Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
by Izora Jade
Summary: There is an Academy for Artists, boys with the talent to control one of the Five Elements: Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Spirit. They just got a new student. A student who knows too much. One who knows of the prophecy that is coming quickly into play.... They
1. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road part 1

**Part One**

Duo wandered down the dank halls of the Academy as his golden, dimond-studded bands clanked against one another in the quiet of the building.

He hated it how they did that. It was so noisy. It upset him. He liked the quiet. He didn't like the screaming or the pain or the anguish or the tears. He liked it to be nice and quiet.

Silently he cursed the Bands. He would never be free as he wore those. Even if some how he managed to destroy the force keeping him at the building, everyone would know what he was because of the Bands. And even if he could physically take them off, it wouldn't matter because he would die if they were removed.

Die or go insane.

He'd seen people who were insane in the pit of the school. Sometimes at night they'd laugh their creepy laughter and it would carry to his room and he shuddered. He didn't like the laughter. It was hollow and filled with anguish and a cynical feeling that would make him cringe and the little hairs along his arms and the back of his neck would stand on end.

He didn't want to laugh like that.

He reached the library and walked down the rows of books.

'Hmmm.... Where to begin, where to begin....' he thought to himself, the dusty covers making him want to sneeze.

He pulled out one. The label was completely worn away and the dust so thick on it you could trace words into it with your finger.

He sneezed as he brushed off the cover.

Hey, Duo.

Duo smiled at the familiar voice. Quatre was in the room somewhere.

He wanted to answer but he knew he couldn't. Quatre knew this too. He wouldn't be offended. Technically he wasn't even supposed to be using his power on the vicinity without a good reason, but no one really cared that much unless you were being destructive or plotting against the Council.

What are you up too? They have me in here to read them some stupid script in Yuotain. I don't really want to translate it because it is highly embarrassing, but they all think it's some great prophecy. Actually, it's just a stupid guy who was trying to impress his friends by...well...writing a little story about...eh...sex.

Duo tried not to, but he had to cover his mouth to stifle a laugh. He could see the librarians now as Quatre, with a twisted look on his face, translated what he read. They wouldn't believe him and probably beat him until they got a second, third, and fourth opinion on it. Quatre was the best in the school with that language, growing up there and being the only pupil from that part of the country. They always go to him when they notice the language.

He felt sorry for Quatre because he wasn't all that strong of a boy. He didn't want to be involved in all this Art nonsense, but he was. He'd much rather write poetry or press flowers or court a woman than learn an Art, but he really didn't have a choice and tried to make the best of it.

But classes took a lot out of him, and he really couldn't stand too many unnecessary beatings. It wasn't fair, but Duo couldn't do anything to change it.

Boy, Duo, you should see how mad they are now.... I know what's coming, but it will be worth it when they see I'm right in the end. I'm always right, but they *never* believe me. What can I do?

Duo wished he had the power to send a message back to his friend and tell him to be strong, but he couldn't and he felt so hapless standing there staring at the book in his hands.

Poor Quatre.... He always did tell the truth, but he could never convince the teachers. They didn't care about him. They lumped him into every other boy. His individual actions didn't matter. He could be vicious, or he could be sweet, they didn't care. They still hated you.

But poor Quatre didn't understand that. He thought that if he tried hard enough to please them, he eventually would, but he wouldn't. He'd never please them because they didn't care. Anything nice you did was forgotten by the next day, if not the next half hour.

Oh boy.... I'll talk to you later Duo. Tomorrow, at lunch, if I'm feeling well enough. They're pretty mad this time. I can just imagine what they'll do.... Bye.

Duo knew his friend was leaving when he heard the door slam loudly and winced.

"Poor Quatre," he muttered as he sat down with his book and opened it.

He tried not to let a smile too wide form across his face as he looked at the language it was in.

One of those languages they thought that no one could read.

One of the ones he could.

H'sung.

He began to read and really started enjoying it too. It was a book. An actual *book*. Not a prophecy. Not a spell. A book.

The H'sung people were avid traders way back when before their country was destroy and taken over by the Uots 16, 000 years ago. They loved literature and wrote tons of it. They sold it to people, who thought it would be worth something. Anyone they sold their works too didn't understand the point of writing a story on paper and basically got rid of the things as soon as they could. Some believed they were cursed, some who couldn't read the language thought that they were incantations, both such peoples burned them.

Over all, very little of the H'sung literature was saved, and even less people knew how to read it.

Oh, the wonder of being an Incarnate.

If any of the teachers found out that he was an Incarnate or that one of his past lives was as an H'sung trader, they would go into orbit and study him for all he's worth.

He had to be careful not to let them find out.

He didn't want to be hurt any more than he had to be.

Though he knew that was a foolish wish.

"Duo Maxwell," he heard a voice speak and froze.

Teacher Le'phur. Double Band Master of the Wind Element. Hell of a Teacher.

"Yes?" Duo squeaked.   
  
"What *do* you think you're doing?"

"Looking at this."

"Are you, by any chance, *reading* this?" he asked, his voice colder than the icy halls of the bottom floor of the school.

"No."

"Oh, so you're looking at it, flipping pages, smiling, but *not* having a clue what you're looking at?" he asked skeptically.

Duo held up the book innocently. "Don't you think it's a pretty picture?"

Teacher Le'phur sighed grandly and grabbed the book from Duo, closing the fragile pages carefully and resting it on the desk.

"I always knew you were hopeless, Maxwell," he muttered. "It's not a picture, Maxwell, it's a language. It's also a book you shouldn't be touching. It's very old and you'll most likely wreck it if you're deaf and dumb hands get a hold of it. Just stay away from any picture books and only look at stuff you can read, okay," he commanded, shaking his head as he walked away to put the book back on a shelf out of Duo's reach.

Duo was a little upset, but he snickered anyway.

'Asshole,' he thought. 'Thinks he's so much better than me. We're both Double Band, even if my second Band was just added, and he's never going to get any higher, where as I have the potential to become Triple Band, if I try hard enough. Not to mention I'll probably have a better sex life than he will, or ever *did*, have.'

These musings made him feel a little better and he stood once more and exited the room.

'They give us all this free time after Fourth Block Class, but there's nothing to do but go back to your room and contemplate suicide. You have to wander the halls just to stay sane. Until you get lost and then you go insane.'

Duo giggled to himself as he began to skip stupidly down the hall.

Suddenly he stopped as he crossed one of those doors that made the little hairs on his neck stand. Slinking a few feet down he used his knowledge of Wind Art to make the voices inside the door clearer as they wafted in his direction.

"He's new, yes, but he's already on Double Band power. It's creepy. What if they find out?" an older male voice asked worriedly.

"Who, the students? Yeah, right. Like they care anyway. They can't remove the Bands themselves and they know it. What does it matter? Besides, he won't talk. He's barely said two words to us and look at what we've done to him. There is absolutely nothing to worry about," another voice comforted.

"Where will we assign him?" the first voice picked up again, not sounding much more reassured.

"Hmm.... That pesky kid still goes without a roommate."

"True."

"Why don't we stick him there? The least they can do is kill each other."

"Besides," the first spoke, rationale in his voice, "that stupid brat is Wind anyway, Double Band. He can balance out the other and the other can balance him. You know how Wind and Earth work together."

"Yes. Besides, even if this guy had any good plans to over throw us, that Maxwell shit is too stupid to understand anything. It's a wonder he made it to Double Band."

"True.... Some people just have the gift."

Duo cut off his power, turned, and forced himself to walk.

What if they knew he was there? What if it was a sign? What would they do to him?

His heart was pounding so hard he could feel it in his feet. He choked for breath and the cold hallway seemed to get a lot colder as he wrapped his arms around himself.

Oh, boy, this wouldn't be fun. If they knew, they would beat him to the brink of death.

But they wouldn't let him die. He might be pesky and 'dumb' to them, but they wouldn't kill him.

Duo assumed they had a sick plan for anyone who reached Double Band.

When you reached the age of twenty-five, you disappear. If you're Single Band, they let you go. Hell, if you were twenty-five and Single Band, you weren't going anywhere. You just had the mishap of getting a little Power into you. Nothing serious. However if you're Double, ha. Who knows? If you're Triple.... Duo had never seen a Triple Band before in his entire life. He imagined they had to exist, but never, never had he seen one.

He wanted to be one, but he was also scared.

What would they do to you?

He still had a good ten years to become a Triple Band, but the fear of finding out still ate at him.

It didn't bother him so much when he realized how slow the next ten years would be. Beating, raping, beating, beating, raping, beating....

Yes, the next ten years weren't looking up, especially if the next day was going to be a near death day.

In all his fear, he had completely forgotten about Quatre.

It took a lot in Duo to forget entirely about the only friend he ever had in the entire world.

~Til Then~ 


	2. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road part 2

**Part Two**

Duo sighed as he stared up at the ceiling. He hadn't slept at all that night, his eyes were painful and dry and it hurt to blink.

Fear coursed through every vein in his body. He kept hearing the door open and Teachers march in. And even though every time it was just his imagination, it felt so real he jumped. 

Finally, the door did open and harsh golden light flooded into the room. He lay flat as a board, hoping he could just sink into the sheets and disappear.

"Duo Maxwell?" the second voice from the night before asked. 

"Yes?" his timid voice replied to the robed figure. 

"We have a little friend for you. Sit up."

Duo did as he was told. 

"This will be your new roommate. His name is Heero Yuy. He's Double Band and his Art is Earth. Be nice to him and try not to scare him with your stupidity like you do everyone else."

Duo gave a curt nod and didn't fall into relief quite then. He wouldn't be safe until the man had walked out the door, down the hall, and out of the Student's Chambers.   
  
The man turned to the newbie and smiled. 

"Enjoy your stay at our Academy."  
  
With that he left the two boys together. Duo was dead silent as he used his power to waft the sound of the man walking out to his ears. 

As the last door shut, Duo collapsed upon his bed, breathing deep and heavy.   
  
The new member of the room snorted and sat down on the other bed.

Then Duo sat up once again and looked at his new roomie whose name he couldn't remember for the life of him. 

The boy was thin, with a well-muscled build. His crisp blue eyes were alert and seemed to study everything constantly. His hair was a dark brown and fell in an unruly mop over his eyes. 

Duo found him interesting to look at. 

He didn't want to admit it, but he knew he was going gay. He hadn't been around women since he was five and he was longing for a little romance. 

"So, what do you think of our wonderful school?" Duo mocked cynically. 

"It's bull piss," the other replied darkly. 

"Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner. Congratulations. You've won our Grand Prize. You get to spend all eternity here. How do you feel now?" Duo spoke dully, sarcasm oozing out of his voice. 

"Pissed on," the other replied. 

Duo smirked. This guy was promising to be a blast. He was the kind of person the Teachers would hate. 

"What's your name? I'm sorry, I didn't catch it."

"Heero Yuy. You are Duo Maxwell, no?" 

"Yep. That's right. I'm not quite as stupid as they make me out to be. I play dumb because the Teachers don't mess with you so much when you're dumb."

Heero grunted. "They mess with me and I'll blow them off this fucking Earth."

"Hate to break it to you, buddy, but these bitches" - he lifted his arms, indicating the bracelets - "only allow you to access a little of your power, not anywhere near enough for me to cause a small twister in the palm of my hand," Duo spat with disgust. 

Heero smirked. "Oh?" With that, the bracelets unsnapped from around his wrists and fell into the lap. 

Duo just gawked at what at he previously thought was impossible.

"No, no!" he then cried. "You'll die with them off!" 

"I'm not dead yet. I've known my Art since I was three. This is the first time I've ever heard of any 'Bands' or dying. I don't think I'm in too much danger if I've lasted all of my life without these things. I don't think anyone's in danger. I just think they want to keep anyone with power close to them."

Duo was clutching his hands to his chest defensively. "I don't know...."

"But for now, I'll be keeping them on." Heero clicked the Bands back on around his wrists. "Don't want the Teachers finding out I can take these things off. I didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't scare me!" Duo replied, indignant. In truth, this new boy scared him out of his mind. Everything he'd believed, the world he'd been raised in, suddenly crumbled under his feet. Did the bracelets not even matter? Could you.... Could you truly survive without them and not...go mad?

Heero smirked. "I know."

Heero pitied the brainwashed boy across from him. He seemed to be clinging to the feeble teachings of this school as if they were the only things left in life. 

What had they done to him? 

Duo stuck his nose in the air arrogantly. "I can't wait 'til you get your ass kicked, Mr. Mighty. Don't mock me." 

Heero rolled his eyes and lay down. 

"When's First Block Class?" he asked as he traced the ceiling with his eyes. 

"In twenty minutes."

Heero wondered what he'd do for the next twenty minutes and resorted to snapping the bracelets on and off. And on. And off. And on....

"Why in the hell are you doing that?!" Duo finally shouted, his annoyance clear. 

"I'm bored."

Duo barked a short laugh. "Bored? Bored?! You're bored? Hell! Everyone is 'bored'! But that doesn't mean you have the permit to drive a person insane! Click, click, click! Ah! Stop it!" 

Heero turned his head to look at his roommate, who was almost ripping out his hair in frustration. 

"You could have asked nicely."

Duo promptly rolled his eyes, picked up a thin pillow, and threw it at him, with a little added force due to his Art. 

Heero clicked off his bracelets and Duo's bed was over turned on its side and smashed him into the wall. Duo's cry was stifled by the sheets as hopelessness overwhelmed him, trapped to the wall by the bed. 

"Don't ever," Heero growled the warning, "raise you're hand or use your Art against me again or I will pull your body apart piece by simple piece and watch as you scream and bleed to death. Got that?" 

Duo's apology was strangled and barely heard from where he was ensnared alongside the wall.

When Heero was satisfied that he got the message, he gave a curt nod and flicked his wrists and the bed came down and Duo collapsed on the floor next to it. 

With out a second thought or concern for the boy he just offended, he snapped the bracelets back on and lay back down on his bed. 

Duo figured that maybe he was insane, he just didn't know it. 

~~~

Duo saw Quatre nowhere the next day at lunch. 

All he wanted was to sit down and eat a nice lunch with his best friend, but that wish didn't seem to be one he was going to have granted. 

"Trowa!" he called, walking up to the tall boy who seemed to always have a shadow over his eyes and a chip on his shoulder. "Have you seen Quatre today?" 

"Duo," he acknowledged, tilting his head to the side to get a good look at him. "No. I haven't. Do you know what could have happened? I haven't heard him since Wednesday."

Duo sighed and didn't want to talk about it, but figured that Trowa had a right to know. 

"They asked him to translate something. He did. It was a little less than what they expected and they didn't believe him."

A flicker of anger passed over the boy's usually tranquil face. 

"We won't be seeing him today. Nor tomorrow, most likely, either," he spoke softly, sadly. 

"It has been taking a lot out of him recently," Duo admitted, trying to sound casual. 

"They shouldn't do that kind of thing to people. Especially Quatre...."

Duo suspected that Trowa had a thing for the blond haired boy, but he didn't say anything. It was better to keep you're lips sealed then to speak, Duo had learned, in almost every circumstance. 

"I know." Duo sighed. "You might be amused by the situations that filled my morning, if you would like to get your mind off of it...."

Trowa looked up at him and Duo sat down next to him. 

"I got a new roommate and the guy's a fucking freak. Trowa, he..." -at this point Duo's voice dropped to a whisper- "...he can take off the Bands."

Trowa's eyes widened in shock as he moved back to get a clearer look at Duo. 

"Are you out of your mind? Are you okay?" 

"Of course! He took them off and he smashed me into the wall with the bed. He didn't even touch it. He just lifted it with his Art and pushed me into the wall! I'm going to have bruises forever! How could he do that unless he had taken them off, huh?" he hissed. 

"What did you do to make him so mad?" 

"I threw a pillow at him! That's it! I got upset 'cause he keep snapping them on and off and on and off in the dead silence of the room and it was just getting on my nerves a little bit, so I threw a pillow at him. That's all. Then he got all freaky on me and told me if I rose a hand to him again he'd rip me into little pieces."

"What's his Art?" 

"I think its Earth."

"Oh. Maybe he works well with metal and can ease apart the atoms? He must be pretty good, for having just joined the Academy."

"Double Band."

Trowa was silent. "Duo, don't let this man be the death of you."

"Man?! He's only my age!" 

"Whatever!" Trowa exploded in anger. "Man, boy! I don't care! Don't let yourself be killed by him, okay?" 

"Yes. There must be a more honorable death."

Both boys turned in surprise to see their quiet friend who had snuck up on them. 

"I hate it when you do that," Duo muttered. 

"I don't care," Wufei replied. "Back to the point. Avoid the man and don't push his buttons."

"Are you suggesting something?" 

"I'm suggesting you know how to annoy people, but you're still my friend and I don't want you to die such an dishonorable death."

"Wufei, you are a loony," Duo sighed, looking out at the people around him as he munched on a stick of bread. Heero sat by himself, eating quickly and efficiently as seemed everything he did. Unlike all three of them, with their assorted fresh bandages, Heero had none. 

"I wonder if he's lonely...."

"Why do you care?" Wufei asked, playing with his ruby-studded Bands, freaked out by hearing that they could be taken off. "He threatened to kill you."

"Still.... It's no fun to be alone...."

~~~

Duo wandered through the halls after Fourth Block. He hoped to get to the library and find that book once more. 

But before he got there, he noticed, glancing down a hall, that Heero was on the other end, turning into a forbidden hall. 

No matter what Heero did to him, he didn't deserve what he'd get going down that hall. 

No one did. 

He ran down the cold, slate floor and grabbed Heero by the shoulder, pulling him back into the safe hall. 

"What do you think you're doing?!" Duo hissed. 

"What do you think *you're* doing?" Heero replied angrily, removing Duo's hand from him. "Didn't I give you enough of a warning?" 

"Hell, I just saved your sorry ass! You go down that hall and you wish you were dead! They do stuff to people that go down that hall. They do mean stuff." Unconsciously, Duo had wrapped his arms around himself and shuddered. "Don't go down there."

Heero was fascinated by the fear that the simple hall seemed to evoke in the other boy and tilted his head.

"What do they have down that hall?" 

"I don't know...really.... I only went down their once and I will *never* do it again.... I clung to the other side of the wall for weeks, and that was when I stopped taking the longer route to the library."

"Nothing can be that bad," Heero replied, turning to look at the entrance of it. Some strange language was carved into the curve of the entrance and he wondered what it meant. 

Duo looked at the words on the door and shuddered. 

He would've never went down there if he knew what they had said when he was a curious eight year old, but he wasn't in tune with his Incarnate self, then. 

He wished he were, because what they did to him would fill his nightmares for the rest of his life. 

~Til Then~  



	3. Goodbye Yellow brick Road part 3

**Part Three**

"Hey!" Duo cried, running over to Quatre and catching him before he fell to the ground. "Hey, man, are you okay?" 

Quatre looked up at the braided boy and gave him a weak smile. "I'll be fine.... Just a little faint...."

"Hey, that's not good.... Come on. Let me help you." Duo took his lunch from him and wrapped one of his arms around his shoulder and let Quatre lean solely on him as he walked his friend over to a huge tree in the courtyard. 

Quatre was never and would never be a very big or heavy man and the fact that he seemed to keep getting lighter and lighter scared Duo. 

"There ya go...." Carefully, Duo helped him down and he rested gratefully against the tree. 

"Thank you," he spoke softly and Duo noticed all the fresh bandages covering his body. 

"What did they do to you?" he asked, nibbling at his lower lip, trying to keep the tears out of his eyes. He was so afraid that one day they would work him to the limit. One day he thought that they might do it and beat the very last thread of life out of him. 

"Ah.... You know.... The usual...." Quatre replied lightly, as if it hurt for him to speak above a whisper. 

"What did they do, Quatre? What? And who did it? I swear to the Divine I will make their sorry ass burn in Darkness forever. I'll make them pay.... I'll find out how to get these fucking Bands off and I'll kill him!" 

Quatre returned Duo's speech with a small, weary smile. "No.... No one deserves that.... Duo...." Opening his mouth slightly wider, the other boy yawned and let his head fall against Duo's shoulder. "I'm tired.... I'm so tired, sometimes...." 

Duo scrubbed the tears out his eyes with the back of his hand and hugged Quatre to his chest, unashamed of his bold actions in the middle of the Luncheon Court Yard. 

"You're so warm, Duo.... So warm and full of life...." Quatre whispered with a light smile across his face. "You're Spirit.... I can feel it even with the Bands...."

"Shut up!" Duo cried, wanting to smack his best friend. "Stop saying things like that!" 

Heero looked over the two boys, huddled together, the braided one, Duo, sobbing into the blond one's hair. The blond one just rested a hand on his shoulder and pet it gently, resting his head on his chest. 

Heero smirked. The bond between these two was very strong.... 

A third joined their party, resting a hand on the blonde's shoulder and stroked his back, whispering as Duo tried to stop crying.

Then, another joined them, standing by the tree and looking down on the spectacle, parting his mouth to comment here and there.

Things would certainly get interesting between these four and him.... 

~~~

Duo hoped today would be a repeat of last night. 

Last night they said not word one to each other, and Duo was extremely pleased with that turn of events. He was hoping for an encore. 

No such luck. 

"I saw you with your friends today," he uttered as Duo made to turn out the lamp. 

"Yeah, what's your fucking point? Don't mess with me, okay. Today is *not* the day," Duo warned and Heero smirked. 

"Okay." 

Duo turned to look at the other boy in shock. He agreed that easily? 

"I know what happened anyway." 

"Look! Shut the fuck up! It's upsetting for me!"

"Oh, I can understand how it would be."

"Well, yeah! When you're best friend is raped for telling the truth--! Quatre's the only person I care about, the only friend I have, it's just a *little* upsetting! I don't want him to *die*!"

Heero grinned. "I wouldn't know." 

"Well, no wonder. I don't see how someone like you could have *any* friends," Duo hissed, realizing how he had tricked him into saying what was wrong with Quatre.

As he clicked off the light and settled roughly into bed, he had no idea how much his words had affected Heero. 

Never in his life had he had a friend. He wasn't blind to it. He knew people didn't like him. 

Was what Duo said...true?

Would he never have...a friend?

~~~

The faint sound of a music box played in the background as Duo turned circles in the library. 

He felt so small.... The shelves towered over him ominously as the music continued the play, filling the air with a haunted feeling. 

The click of the piano and the plucking of strings as the he slowly turned circles.... Staring up at the ceiling.... 

Something was there.... Something was calling for him.... 

What was it...?

He stopped and looked down the rows of books.

It was so dark. No lights.... Just the faint trails of moonlight sneaking in through the windows and lighting a path down the rows of books.... 

Everything seemed to be tinged in blue as he slowly made his way down them. He didn't look to the sides, just straight foreword. 

Something was there.... Something was calling to him.... 

Something wanted him to find it. 

'What are you?' he asked silently, but even his thoughts seemed too loud in the dead silence of the halls. 

He came to a door that was never there before. He just noticed it. 

Across the top were markings.... 

H'sung. 

Reaching out hesitantly like a small child, he touched them and traced them with his fingers. 

'The Secret Lies Within'

His fingers brushed the door lightly and it slid in. 

Tilting his head he looked at the small entrance, which seemed only a child could fit in. 

On the inside curve of the door was more H'sung. 

His fingers moved deafly over them as he read. 

'The Secret Lies Within - You Are Getting Closer'

Carefully he stepped inside, curiosity taking hold of him. 

Down the impossibly small halls he crawled. Cobwebs caught in his face and he preferred not to think about what he could be touching as he made his way. 

Stranger yet, at the end of the hall, there was a light. He saw it. 

Light.... 

Suddenly he was enveloped in the golden substance as he stepped out into a room with a fire blazing in the middle. A gigantic candle on a steel stand, a podium placed right in front of the structure with a book sitting on top of it. 

Across the wall in huge letters was engraved: 'The Secret Lies Within - You Have Found The Book - Find The Secret - You Are Getting Closer'

Stepping foreword he found himself staring down on the cover of the book. 

The brown book was bound in what looked like to be the hid of some animal and thick silver holding it together with three huge nails. 

Grasping fingers and inquisitive eyes died to see what was beyond the cover, but as he reached out to touch it, everything around him scattered into black and he sat ridged in bed, sweat soaking his entire body and the blankets and the pillow. 

He realized his breathing was much more heavy than usual as he wiped his brow and leaned against the headboard. 

He glanced over at Heero, who was still resting in deep sleep. 

Vaguely he wondered what time it was. 

He wondered what time it was and what the dream had meant, if anything. 

It felt so real.... 

'The Secret Lies Within - You Have Found The Book - Find The Secret - You Are Getting Closer' 

What did it mean...?

The book....

The Secret Lies Within.... You Are Getting Closer.... 

Duo didn't know much about Visions, but he did know that it was usually people with the Spirit Art that were plagued by them, not Wind. What was he doing with a Vision?

Was it even that, or was it really just a longing to finish the story he started in the library?

No.... It felt so real.... He could feel his hair stand on end when he heard the music.... He could feel the cobwebs on his face.... He could feel the dank, clamminess of the hall.... The fear that had seized him when he walked down the rows of books.... The moonlight as it fell upon the floor.... The dust that caught in it.... The texture of the wood of the door.... The H'sung markings....

How could it have all just been a dream?

And what if it was more than just a dream?

What if.... What if it was truly a Vision...?

~~~

"Hey Quatre.... How are you doing today?" Duo asked, trying to be cheery. 

"Better than before, if that is what you mean," Quatre replied lightly. He was doing a little better. He sounded almost like his normal self and it didn't sound like it hurt him to breath like the day before. 

"Have you.... Have you ever had a Vision?" 

Quatre was silent at his friend's question. 

"Yes," he replied quietly. 

"What was it like?" 

"Well.... It was very real. I felt like I was there. Like I was touching things. It scared me the first time because there was lots of fire and it felt so real.... I felt like I was really being burned alive."

Duo's eyes shot open. "You were being burned?! Don't Visions have an almost direct affect on what will happen in this world?" 

Quatre giggled a little. "Visions are funny, in a way. Not always is it exactly what you are expecting. I had that one a while back. You remember. When I was still Single Band and must've been...eleven.... They put me against an angry Fire Artist and let me see if I could sooth his emotions. I couldn't and he burned me up real bad. You remember that right? Well, that was what the Vision portrayed."

Duo heaved a great sigh of relief. "Thank the Divine...."

"But why do you ask?" 

"I.... I think I had a Vision last night. I know that normally it only happens with Spirit Artists, but it was so deadly real.... I thought I was living it.... Everything I touched I can still feel...." 

"Well, when you have enough of them, you kind of see a pattern in what a Vision is and what one isn't. All my visions have something in common. In all my visions, everything seems to be one color, if that makes sense. Everything in shades of blue or red or yellow.... Whatever has to do with that room or a color that represents an emotion I am feeling. Something like that. But things like these are hard to pick up on unless you have consecutive Visions. Often times you forget minor details like that, for most people are usually just so caught up in the realistic feel of the Vision, that once they awake, the don't realize the small things, you understand?"

Duo nodded. 

"You'll have to think about it. See if you have any more." Quatre fell silent and then whispered, in fear and anxiety, "it wasn't anything bad...was it?" 

Duo shook his head. "No. Just...confusing. 'The secret lies within.... You have found the book.... Find the secret.... You are getting closer....' I don't have the faintest what it could mean.... I think that.... I think that there's a hidden door somewhere in the library. In my dream, or Vision, or whatever it was, I found it. But when I touched it, I woke up. I want to know what was inside. Whatever it was, it was most likely in H'sung." 

"Oh?" 

"Yeah. All the words carved into the doors were H'sung. Into the wall was also H'sung. I guarantee it was H'sung in the book...."

Quatre's pale lips formed a line as he thought about this. 

"You know the pictures on the door leading into the forbidden hall is all H'sung, right?" 

The blond turned to look at his friend with curiosity.

"No. I didn't know that. What does it say?" 

"Roughly translated, it reads.... 'The Pit of Darkness. Herein Resides the Great Lord of the Dark. All Who Proceed Bow Down Before His Might and Strength. Worship in His Eternal Grandeur'." 

Quatre gasped. 

"Then it is truly no wonder...."

"What is?" 

"That the place has such a Negative Aura. Black seeps out of the wood and fills the entire hall.... I suppose that's why I was never tempted to see what was down it." 

"Lucky you," Duo muttered to himself, rubbing his upper arm self-consciously. 

~Til Then~  



	4. Goodbye Yellow brick Road part 4

**Part Four**

Heero grabbed Duo's left arm, now completely covered in fresh bandages. On impulse, Duo made to smack him, but then, as he brought his hand down, remembered his threat and stopped. 

"I don't understand...."

"What do you want?" Duo spat. 

"I don't understand how you become so injured. What do you do?" 

"Nothing. I do nothing." 

"Maybe you should."

"If I do, They might realize my potential. I'd rather be in pain than have them notice me."

Heero rose and eyebrow at him as he released his arm. 

"Well, I suppose we all have something like that," Heero returned, his face dropping to its usual blank disposition.

Duo watched him curiously as he lay down in bed. 

He turned his back to him and Duo gave a small smile. 

Maybe.... Maybe he wasn't so bad. 

He turned and walked out the door. 

~~~

"Okay, Maxwell. It won't be fun if you sit there. This test has to do with fire. 

"You will be given a small flame. You must envelop the room with this flame, surrounding yourself with it, but stay alive.

"If you deserve to live, you will."

Duo muttered under his breath, his hand nervously playing with his unbound wrist. 

A small flame flickered in the torch near the wall. 

He had to do this. Fire scared him and Duo thought they might know this. Who knew what they'd do if he didn't play their game?

Carefully he began to manipulate the air around him, testing it. 

'This will be hard,' he thought. 'I need to keep oxygen for myself while giving it to the fire.'

Cautiously he divided the air. He separated the oxygen from the carbon dioxide. He built up a thick wall of carbon dioxide between him and the fire, keeping oxygen rich air on both sides. 

Then, breathing very little of his air, he began to envelop the flame with oxygen, making it grow and leap across the walls.

He was a little frightened, but knew fire couldn't thrive without oxygen and he knew there was a gap the fire couldn't cross for he had made that wall of carbon dioxide. Not to mention he could pull all the oxygen from the fire right out of it and it would disappear quite nicely if it got too close. 

Finally, all the oxygen was exhausted and the fire died out as he crumpled upon the floor.

~~~

As his eyes shifted open he saw the face of his best friend right above him, big blue eyes shining, face so close that his yellow bangs brushed against his cheeks, tickling them.

"Duo! You're awake!" Quatre cried happily, hugging Duo tight. 

"Whoa, whoa...." he whispered, feeling extremely tired. All the muscles in his body felt like they would die right there.

"Sorry," Quatre apologized lightly, releasing him and resting on his knees beside his bed. "How are you feeling? Are you okay?" 

"How'd you get in here...?" Duo asked, tilting his head over to look at his friend. 

"He told me about you and asked me if I'd like to see you," Quatre whispered, jerking his thumb back to Heero who was leaning against the wall, watching them nonchalantly. 

"Heero?" 

"Yeah. I wanted to see if you'd be okay." 

Duo smiled lightly. "Thanks."

He saw Heero smirk from the corner of his eye and turn his head away. 

~~~

"Hey Heero, why'd you do that for me?" Duo asked that night as he tried to fall deeper into the warmth of the pillow. 

"I thought you might like to see him." 

"That's the only reason? Just out of the blue?"

"He's you're friend. I thought you might like to see him."

Duo realized he was touching on a sensitive subject by the way his voice grated as he spoke, as through speaking through gritted teeth. 

"Heero?" he asked again after a few minutes. 

"What?" the other replied wearily.

"Why weren't you brought here when you were little? Like most of us? Weren't people scared? Where'd you live before you came here?" 

Heero sighed. "I would have never come here, if it had been my choice. Stupid missionaries made me come. I lived a good way from here. Right on the edge of the Rolock Sea. No one in my village cared; I used my Art for good. When people did start caring, I ran. The missionaries found me. End of story." 

"Oh. What's it like?" 

"What?" 

"To...to be free? To be able to go where ever you want on any given day just because you felt like it?" 

Heero turned over to look at the other and cobalt met Prussian in a wave of compassion. 

"You don't...know?" 

"I can't remember," Duo murmured, shame deep in his voice and Heero found that he felt pity for this other boy who hadn't set foot outside the bounds of this prison since he was just a baby. "They hated me so much, if they didn't fear me."

"I...." 

"Heero, could you...would you...please.... Would you please maybe tell me...? Tell me what it's like to be outside a fence...? Describe what it's like not to be chained to something...?" 

"I'm sorry, Duo," he whispered, unable to believe he actually felt sorry for this person that he had just met. "The beauty of being free is the one thing that no one can describe."

"I thought it might have been something...like that...." he replied, downhearted. "Thank you, Heero, for telling me that. At least.... At least now I have something to look for in the future. Good night...."

He clicked off the little light in their room and it plunged into darkness. 

~~~

Duo awoke the next morning to find himself snuggled up against Heero, who was in his bed--!

He screamed and tried to push him out of the bed, but Heero awoke, and although he was a little offbeat from sleep, had managed to keep his ground and not land hard on the floor as Duo wished of him. 

"What are you doing?!" he cried, realizing that if Heero wasn't going to get out, he'd scoot back. 

So he did. 

"Hey.... Calm down.... It's not like I raped you or something," he muttered, rubbing his eyes momentarily. "I wasn't the one who was so deadly scared last night, remember?" 

Duo blushed when he realized the whole thing was his fault. He was the one who awoke screaming and begging Heero not to leave him alone in the dark like that. 

It wasn't his fault.... The dream was just so real.... 

He couldn't figure it out, dammit! He couldn't figure out the secret and he couldn't look inside the book! 

If he didn't would he...would he truly die encased in fire and shrouded in darkness as he did in the dream...?

"Try to be nice and see what you get...." Heero muttered to himself as he climbed out of Duo's bed. Duo tried not to reach out to keep his warm body close...but he was scared. He was scared of the Visions, he was scared he'd never get out of this Academy, he was scared of what the rising of the sun would bring....

He needed something there, real. Something he could be sure of before he completely lost his footing and tumbled over the edge of the cliff. 

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done any of that to you...." Duo apologized softly. 

Heero sighed a little. "No, it's okay.... You remind...never mind."

"What?" 

"Never mind."

"I remind you of what?" 

"Never mind, okay?! I don't want to talk about it," Heero shot, turning his back on Duo once again. 

"Okay.... I'm sorry...again...."

"Just...just.... Never mind. You shouldn't apologize. You can't help it that that's the way you are," he returned, admitting defeat but not liking it. 

"I'm annoying, aren't I? Just like Wufei said...."

"You're not annoying, persay, just...frustrating at times."

"Oh, thanks," Duo replied, sarcasm dripping out of him.

"You'll learn. Just don't ask so many questions. People don't trust other people immediately. Sometimes you have to give a person a little time...." With the latter, Heero sounded more like he was talking to himself, than to Duo, but Duo decided that while on the subject of not asking questions, he wouldn't say anything. 

~~~

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Duo cried as he walked up to his two friends. "And when did this little hook-up happen? Or more importantly, why wasn't *I* there?"

Quatre sat between Trowa's legs, a hand resting on his knee, and Trowa's over his, their fingers laced tightly together. Quatre lay his head against Trowa's shoulder and by the looks of it, before he interrupted, they had been feeding each other bits and pieces of their lunches. 

"I'm glad you're taking this so well," Quatre observed humblely. "I was afraid--"

"Like hell I'm taking this well!" Duo cried, hands on hips as he looked at them resting in an unnoticed corner of the Courtyard. "My best friend got a boyfriend and he didn't tell me!" 

Quatre blushed lightly. "I mean about--"

"Who the hell isn't gay in this place?" Duo asked, kicking the dirt before sitting down across from them. "I haven't seen a woman in so long I'm beginning to think my roommate is sexy."

Quatre giggled a little and squeezed Trowa's hand tighter. 

"Well, then maybe I was foolish to have worried, but you must be able to understand."

"Ah, of course, however I always thought you two would make the cutest couple."

"Thank you."

"I hate to crash this party," Wufei muttered darkly as he seemed to once again slide out of the shadows. "I wouldn't start flaunting this. You don't know what They might do." The boys all knew that he meant the Council and the Teachers. "They may separate you just to be mean, They may think it's fun to watch people suffer. They seem to love to inflict pain."

Everyone was quiet and melancholy as they thought about his truly spoken words.

"I...I suppose you're right," Quatre murmured, making to move out of Trowa's warm embrace, but paused, seemingly chained to him. They all read his pouting look which clearly stated 'I don't wanna' before he moved out of Trowa's lap and directly beside him. 

Enter Heero. 

Duo noticed him limp in, trying to stand straight and tall, even though the bandages around his stomach and up his arms were obvious through the triangle-shaped tunic he wore. No one noticed as he made his way through and sat in the corner directly diagonal of the other four. The brick of the fifty-foot walls grated into his back as he glared at everything around him and sucked in his pain. 

"They finally broke him," Quatre murmured when they noticed what Duo was looking at and took it in themselves. 

"He did better than the others, though, you must admit. He's a strong one," Trowa stated blandly, brushing his fingers subconsciously across Quatre's hand. 

"True.... How long did he last? Almost two weeks...?" 

No one answered as Wufei looked down at the ground, having a lot of respect for this other man, though not wanting to show it. 

Without another word, Duo stood to walk over to him. His three friends watched after him in surprise as he strode over, head lifted high, on a mission. 

Nothing would stand in his way. 

He was going to do something he didn't really want to do, but knew he had to. 

He sat down next to Heero.

Heero moved his head to the side and uttered in defeat "okay, fine. What do you want? Do you want to rub it in my face?" 

"No," Duo replied softly. "I wanted to see if you were okay."

"What is this? Are you mocking me?" he spat, not even having the heart to turn to face his 'enemy'.

"No! I'm not 'mocking' you! Sorry I'm concerned. It's in my nature, I guess. We have to stick together in order to survive. That's the one valuable thing this whole damned Academy has taught me and if this hell-hole can actually teach you something, it has to be something pretty damned important."

Heero didn't say anything to this comment. 

"Now, look at me."

Heero refused so Duo jerked his head around and stared into his eyes. 

"Tell me you'll be okay." 

Heero scowled and stood, brushing him off and limping away. 

Duo sighed. "After I thought I brought him out a little, he sinks right back in...."

Wufei walked up to him in the corner and watched his braided head fall into his hand in defeat. 

"I can't do it, Wufei. That guy's always gonna be stone, isn't he?" 

Wufei shrugged. "I suppose it all depends on how hard They work him. It will either break him to insanity, or make him retreat farther inside himself."

"Well, that's not very happy."

Wufei snorted in disdain. "And when did you decide that things were allowed to be 'happy' here at the Academy?"

~Til Then~  



	5. Goodbye Yellow brick Road part 5

**Part Five**

Duo looked over his sleeping roommate and wondered what they had done to him. He was curled up in a little ball, hugging himself protectively, and his cheeks were stained with dried tears. 

Had he really came back to the room and cried?

He had the urge to lay down with him and try to rest his fears, yet he knew that would be stupid....

If they could make such a cold person cry....

What were they doing now?

~~~

Music danced lightly through the crystal clean air in the huge meadow in which he stood. Duo looked around at the beauty of the place and giggled, skipping through it and falling upon the grass, hugging the sun warmed beauty to him. 

Was this what it was like to be free? Was this what was outside of the concrete prison? 

He looked up into the sky to see clouds like he'd never seen before and the sun that glared down and stung his eyes and he lifted a hand over them and laughed at the beauty of it all. 

_'Duo....' _

He looked up and around to see who it was that had called his name. 

No one was there. 

He stood, genuinely spooked, and wished the now almost annoyingly cheerful music would go away. 

There was something wrong about this and he could feel it. 

_'You must find it....'_

He didn't need to ask what it was that he needed to find. 

It was the secret. 

The secret in the book that he couldn't open!

Where was it? 

_'You are wrong.... You must find it....'_ the celestial voice spoke to him and he began to run. 

He had to get away! He couldn't take it any more! He couldn't find the secret because he couldn't open the book! What could he do?!

Suddenly he came to an abrupt halt as he found himself staring at four different doorframes standing upright in the middle of the meadow. Different colored electricity shot through each one. Black, white, green, and red. Through each portal there was a podium with the book sitting on it. 

"Holy shit...." he whispered softly when he read the markings over each of them. 

All in H'sung they read "Earth", "Fire", "Spirit" and "Water". 

"No Wind...." he realized with a shock. His Art wasn't there. What did that mean?

Taking a deep breath, he evaluated his options. What could he do? It was all a dream, so it couldn't hurt him, right? He couldn't just stand there for the rest of the dream; he had to do something. What would it hurt to go through one of the frames? There was nothing left to lose. 

Sucking in as much air as he could and hopping to gain just a grain more courage, he picked the 'Earth' door because it was the first one to his left. 

So he stepped forward. 

The black lightening scared him a little. 

Okay, so it scared him a lot. It cackled and fizzed as it met the other side of the frame almost louder than the annoying music box in the background. 

'There's nothing to lose,' he promised himself as he took a step into the threshold. 

Suddenly he was bombarded by images and emotions and thoughts that were not his own but pained him just as much as if they were. 

He was watching it, but was connected to it, and began to realize that he was watching clips from Heero's life. 

When he was a child, running and playing with the other kids. At first they made fun of him and teased him and were afraid, but then he showed them what he could do with his Art. 

Later, when he was a little older, and in love. Pictures of the pretty girl flooded his vision and Duo was filled with a warm feeling that didn't want to go away. 

Every time she spoke to him.... Every time she smiled.... Every time he looked at her.... 

Then they kissed. They were alone, together, closing up the small store. He had visited her, his anxiety filling him and Duo felt this. He walked up to her and they chatted for a few minutes. He asked if he could help. She agreed. They worked in a comfortable silence, but their hands met as they tried to open the same door. They stared at each other in childish embarrassment of two in love thirteen year olds and Heero moved in to let their lips touch. 

Days they were together, happy, swimming in a small pond, eating a picnic in a forest, showing each other the little skills they knew. 

Then things turned bad as another boy entered the scene. 

He wanted the girl, Duo knew this. Heero wouldn't let this happen. 

He got mad when he found this new boy and his girl kissing. 

Without thinking, he used his art and destroyed the man, making the cells in his body want to separate from each other and making him explode in a bloody mess that slopped upon the barn-yard floor and had the girl screaming in terror and vomiting. 

Pain wracked at Duo as he realized what he'd done and he ran from his village, ran from everything he knew, and even tried to run from himself. 

He lived alone in the forest where he became very quiet and strong. 

Then the missionaries came and dragged him away. 

The trip was very painful and they beat him when he tried to get away. They chained him up to a tree and whipped him with their new, leather horsewhips until he coughed up blood from the pain. 

Sometimes, when one of them was especially feeling horny, they'd chain him up to the tree and rape him like he was immortal, digging their fingers into his skin, biting at his flesh like dogs, and pushing into him as if they truly didn't care if they ripped his body open, as long as they had their sick pleasure. 

The trip was pure hell for Heero and he had tried to kill himself several times along the way, but they always caught him in the act and wouldn't let him die 'just yet'. 

Then he got to the Academy and he thought it was all over. They shoved him around and pushed him here and there, keeping him locked in the dungeon for a long while before they decided to do something with him. 

But this was better than ever before because at least he wasn't being raped or beat. The insane people were actually a nice change from the people he had been around for the past three months. The insane people weren't mean, they didn't hurt you. They talked about stupid nonsense and what they would do when they got out. Sometimes they'd talk about flying cows or blue and pink bunny rabbits and Heero enjoyed this talk. He could have gotten used to it. 

No such luck. They dragged him out and threw some Bands on him and placed him with Duo. 

It was the first time Duo had ever seen himself and it was strange to be looking at one's self from someone else's view. 

At first, Heero didn't want to say too much. He realized that he was thinking that Duo was pretty and was comparing him to the girl of his past and this made Duo want to blush and hide his face. It was strange to be thinking affectionately of yourself, even if it was someone else's thoughts that were infiltrating you. 

But Heero was hurt from the past and didn't want to get too involved and tried to keep his distance, but he liked Duo. Duo was happy and didn't seem like he wanted to hurt him. 

Duo was like a child, in a sense, stubborn and scared and needy. He thought nothing of it when he lay down next to him in the night, the night he awoke screaming and crying. He actually enjoyed the feeling of having someone cuddle up close to him and not want to hurt him. 

Then Heero's memories struck on today and Duo thought he might rip his skin from his body, he felt so dirty, so sick. 

They had promised something good when they took him up into one of the rooms. A huge white bed with fluffy sheets. Big windows with sunlight streaming through them and onto the plush carpeted floor. Everything white and beautiful like a dream.

But then it turned into a nightmare as an unfocused man lay him down on the bed and raped him so hard he bled and sobbed and screamed prayers up to the Divine for mercy and forgiveness for whatever sin he committed. 

His body was on fire and he felt so filthy he wanted to die. Was this all his life was? Was this all he was? A screw-up who made an excellent rape toy? Why couldn't he die and have it all over with? There was nothing left.... There was nothing left at all.... 

But then Duo walked up to him and asked him if he'd be okay, and he couldn't meet his eyes. 

How could such a benevolent angel bestow such kindness upon such a hideous malformation in the weaving of life?

He was so shamed that he could not speak, and had to leave such beauty behind. He could not taint it with his ugly soul. 

And so Duo fell to the ground beyond the door in such an disheveled state that he didn't not even realize the music box still playing it's cheery tune, nor that the book lay open in front of him, before he awoke. 

~~~

Sobbing, he came to in the silence of the room. Heero lay still sleeping on the other bed and it broke Duo's heart. 

All that had passed through him so quickly...but he knew that it would always be a part of him and all the pain inside. 

How could one have suffered such a filthy past as that? It was truly no wonder he never trusted anyone or cared.... It was no wonder he didn't smile.... It was no wonder he kept locked away inside himself, with a past like that.... 

Weeping quietly, Duo stood and walked over to Heero, sliding into his bed and hugging him close in the darkness of the night. He didn't care what Heero thought when he awoke, he didn't plan out what he would say. He was working on a here and now basis and right there, right then, he felt an undeniable need to try to comfort the other boy and hug him and make him feel that he wasn't such an awful person. Make it known that maybe he had a future, if they could get out of this hellish prison. 

Make it known that he didn't have to be what his past wanted him to be. He didn't have to be a rape object, he could be something more. 

Duo wanted to make it known that he could be cared about and loved just as much, if not more, than any other human being on the earth. 

~Til Then~ 


	6. Goodbye Yellow brick Road part 6

**Part Six**

Heero awoke and realized that his body was wrapped around something that was wrapped around him and that was nuzzling softly into his chest. He didn't mind the feeling. It was nice and warm and gentle.... He liked it....

So he closed his eyes and didn't worry about it.

Until it dawned on him that it was Duo and his eyes shot open and he jerked away from the boy who's eyelids were fluttering awake.

"G'morning," Duo tried to chirp, but his voice wasn't working very well from sleep and it came out almost incomprehensible.

"What are you doing?" Heero hissed.

"I was sleeping.... I was having a nice dream too...." In truth he was, for once, having a nice dream. A nice dream about Heero and him in a field of flowers where Heero was smiling and was happy, instead of cold and distant, and they talked and laughed.... It was a very nice dream.

"Why were you 'sleeping' in *my* bed?"

Duo fell silent. "I'm sorry, Heero.... I was scared.... I'm sorry.... I shouldn't have done it, but I was scared and I didn't want to be alone.... I'm sorry...."

Heero sighed and sat up as best he could and looked down on the sleeping beauty in his bed.

"Okay, then, but is this going to happen more often? 'Cause if it is we might as well just pull the beds together and that way we'll never be separated, hmm?" Heero suggested, a little sarcastic, a little hopeful.

"If you want," Duo replied shyly, his eyes unable to meet Heero's.

Heero sighed, instead of saying that he'd like that very much, and stood to be dressed.

Duo watched and wondered what was going through his mind as he turned his eyes away to let him dress in what minuscule privacy they had. Was he glad that Duo cared about him? Was he scared of it? Was he angry?

Duo decided he was most likely scared. All his life, love went awry for him. It would be hard for him to be glad, because he was probably more afraid that he would hurt Duo, or that Duo would hurt him. He wouldn't be angry because he wanted someone to care for him. That left him with scared.

It was then that Duo realized how hard it would be to be his friend.

~~~

"As you know, there are Thirteen Gates to the Underworld, each with its personal Guardian."

Quatre sighed and glanced over at Trowa, who was furiously scribbling notes in First Block Class. Quatre wondered what he could possibly be writing about. They learned this stuff every year for the past ten years of their lives, what new was there to write?

Thirteen Gates, each had a Guardian, if the Guardians rose and no one was there to stop them the Dark Lord would take over the Living, blah, blah, blah....

Quatre's eyes lazed around the room and landed on Duo's still empty desk. The teachers would be mad if he showed up late, and Fourth Block Class didn't show any hardship to him.

That was what was so strange about Heero's bandages. They appeared in the morning, before lunch, before Fourth Block Class. Fourth Block was the class in which one had to use their Art, and usually the most dangerous of the classes. All the other classes were Academic, you had to learn something about the world, right?, and it was pretty hard to get hurt in an Academic class.

But Quatre knew better. He didn't ask questions.

Suddenly the door opened and a very frightened Duo stood in the doorway.

"I'm so sorry I'm late," he apologized as the teacher glared at him for interrupting her memorized speech.

He took his seat and there was not any great commotion, and Quatre was glad for this.

What were you doing? Quatre asked mentally and waited for Duo to scribble out a note and pass it up to him.

He unfolded the tiny piece of paper and read it.

_'I had another scary dream I'll tell you about later. I spent the better half of First Block convincing Heero that he didn't have to go to class and that they wouldn't come after him for it because of his condition. I feel so bad for the poor guy, it makes me sick inside, physically sick, to know what he's been through. But I don't trust paper, even through Wufei burns it all. What did I miss?'_

You missed nothing but another lecture on the Thirteen Gates. Did you have another 'Vision'? Wait, don't answer that. I know someone who had Visions. Very definite ones. Scared him so bad he told Them. Then I never saw him again. He just...disappeared. That's why I don't say anything and take the care to be so utterly careful about the matter. I don't want to disappear like he did. I don't know what they did to him....

Duo thought about this and realized that they could let no one find out.

~~~

"Some of the things I saw.... I can't even tell you.... It was like I was there. It hurt so much.... I still hurt...."

Quatre wrapped an arm around his friend's, who was now hugging himself, shoulder.

"Are you sure these aren't stress dreams?"

"What do you mean?" Duo replied in shock.

"Have you found a common thread? You can't prove that was truly Heero's past. How can you prove it's not all nightmares?"

Duo thought about it. There wasn't a thread he could find. One of his dreams took place in the Library, another in a fiery hellish world, and the last in a meadow.... What link was there?

"Maybe you're right.... It's just so real.... It hurt so much....."

"Duo, you're a very intense person. You know how regular dreams are manipulated by intense people."

"I take it this is an 'intense' conversation?"

"Trowa, only you can crack a joke that bad," Duo sighed as he joined them, placing a hand over Quatre's.

"What did he say this time?" Wufei asked as he sat down.

"It's too heinous to be repeated," Duo replied, pushing Quatre's arm off, suddenly aggravated.

So his dreams were nothing special? No Visions? Everything he thought was true about Heero wasn't? His fear of not finding the secret that plagued him so was absolutely nothing? A tale concocted by his own brain?

Besides, Quatre had a boyfriend, now. He didn't need Duo anymore.

Suddenly a shadow fell over them and Duo looked up to see Heero gazing down at them.

"Can I join you?" he asked softly, almost in what Duo would have liked to call fear.

"Of course!" Duo cried, motioning for him to take a seat. "But I'm gonna lecture you later. You didn't have to go to class."

Heero shrugged. "I did."

Duo introduced them to each other and over all, Heero spoke about three words, all directed toward Duo. He was trying to get the feel of the other three. See what he could and couldn't say.

Wufei seemed very uncomfortable with himself and the world around him. Like something was constantly bothering him, something that he couldn't see. Something he couldn't figure out. Something he was dying to figure out.

Quatre was sweet and the kind of person that always wants things perfect for everyone else to the point where it would hurt him, if need be. The kind of person Heero was inexperienced about being around.

Trowa was very quiet and seemed to be taking everything in constantly. The kind of person who knew that speaking was what made one look especially stupid and preferred not to speak at all and make himself look smart.

Duo.... Duo was Duo. The seemingly sweet, caring person that Heero wanted to have as a friend, but couldn't trust.

He had lost trust in life and it was one of those things that takes a long time to find.

~~~

"Why did you go to class today?" Duo asked as he pulled off his tunic and rested down on the bed, his eyelids heavy with need for rest. Though Four Block wasn't painful, it had sapped enough strength out of him to make him wish for a week to do nothing but sleep.

"I don't want them to get a bad impression," Heero replied lightly, taking off his own tunic, the bandages around him clean, now. He must've gotten them changed after Fourth Block. It was really they only time there was for such things.

"Who gives a damn? What can they do with you? They can't get rid of you. If they kill you, they might get a bad reputation, and if they let you go, you'll die and no one will hear the end of it. They can't not put you in classes or else everyone will not want to be in class. The only thing they can really do to 'punish you' is wound you physically, which you've just got to learn to take, or put you in the dungeon with the loonies."

Duo immediately gasped and wished he hadn't said what he just had when he remembered what a comfort the crazy people were to him and that he was in the dungeon for the longest time.

"Crazy people aren't so bad, Duo," he spoke, laying down and emitting a small gasp as he shifted, pain coursing through his body from yesterdays 'activities'. "Crazy people aren't so bad when you have experienced the sick master-minds of the geniuses. Crazy people aren't so bad, when you realize that smart people are so mean."

How could Quatre say it wasn't a Vision? It *had* to be a Vision! He was right! In his dream he had been Heero, locked away with the crazy people and enjoying it! Because it was a change from all the evil he had endured!

And yet.... Duo still could not see the common thread between the three dreams.

"I.... I'm sorry...."

Duo wondered how many times he had apologized since they met, but that thought was struck down when he saw Heero hug his knees to his chest in pain, squeezing them so tight he could see the veins in his arms and Duo had a feeling he was trying to keep from crying from all the anguish and hurt in his life.

He was suddenly hit with the odd desire to walk over and lie down next to him and stroke his hair and try to comfort him, but he knew he could never do that. What would Heero think? What would he do? No, no.... Never. He couldn't do that. Besides, Heero might think he was suggesting that he was in love with him. Never! He wasn't in love with him! He just wanted to befriend him, of course. They knew almost nothing about each other. You couldn't be in love with someone you knew almost nothing about....

Could you?

Because though he tried to tell himself his thoughts were true, there was a little flicker of something else. Compassion? Admiration? Pity? Love?

He didn't know. He didn't care. All he knew right then was that he had to somehow manage not to say the wrong thing and make Heero even madder.

"Are you going to be okay?" he murmured lightly, trying not to belittle his strength.

"Yeah," he managed out in a near whisper.

"Okay.... I just want to be sure, 'cause like I said, we gotta stick together, okay? Lean on each other, you know. We still have ten more years in this hell, we might as well make it a little bit easier, right? Well, I think I've babbled on enough and I'm kinda sleepy and I'm sure you're sick of listening to the sound of my voice.... So goodnight. Hope you are feeling better tomorrow."

With that, he clicked out the light.

~Til Then~ 


	7. Goodbye Yellow brick Road part 7

**Part Seven**

Duo cursed under his breath when he realized where he was. The stupid meadow with the stupid crystal sky and fluffy clouds and stupid freedom. 

No, freedom would never be stupid. Freedom was everything, but this was stupid. It wasn't freedom. 

He was trapped inside his mind. 

"This whole thing would be bearable if that stupid music box would shut the hell up," he muttered. 

_'You have to find out more....'_

"Stupid celestial voice," he growled, walking in the opposite direction he did last time. "I'm not going to play my own mind games. I'm not going to."

He began to whistle a little, his tune jarring with the tune of the music box. 

But he stopped abruptly when he realized where he was. 

_'You have to find out more....'_

"Uh, uh!" Duo cried, backing up as if it might help him somehow. "I'm not going back through one of those doors!" 

_'You have to learn.... You have to understand....'_

The four doors stood ominously before him. Black, white, green, red. 

Earth, Spirit, Water, Fire.

Why couldn't he escape?!

"What in the hell do you want me to do?! Why am I tormenting myself like this?! I can't even answer that question! Argh!"

_'You have to learn.....' _

"Fine!" he screamed, almost pulling out his hair in frustration. "Fine! I'll play the stupid game! I can handle it! It's just a stupid dream!" 

But it was more than 'just a stupid dream', it involved Heero. It hurt Duo to think about all the possible pain Heero went through. 

I would never be 'just a stupid dream'. 

So he ran through the door farthest away from the black one. 

The red one. 

Fire. 

Suddenly he was in another world. 

It was huge and radiant. Mountains in the background, wooden structures delicately shaped. Beautiful, exotic looking flowers and a little boy in a garden with a brush writing in a magnificent script. 

Duo recognized it as the script of the Majii. A city that was destroyed - by what? no one knew - only a few years ago. Not many people survived the death and destruction, or so was told. 

Then he realized that he 'was' this boy. 

This boy had a happy life as for as Duo could tell. Lots of friends, a caring family.... Lots of other boys and men in the place also had a little Art, so it wasn't out of place at all. He was even engaged, at such a young age due to custom, and would be married to a cute-as-a-button little girl when they turned fifteen. 

Duo liked this door. It was happy, nice. A little boy in his blissful life. 

But it was all over soon enough.... When the missionaries came.... 

Wait! He knew it was the missionaries but.... The missionaries' destroyed and entire city and caused the downfall of a country?! And for what cause? Because there were so many men with the Art there?! 

An entire civilization thrown to bits because of a little Art?!

Why did they do it? Was there something more that Duo was missing?

The missionaries began burning and ransacking the glorious place. They stole all the boys with the Art, but the boy he was would be traumatized for life. 

He watched as they gouged out his parent's eyes and raped his beautiful mother and slit his father's throat. They even went as far as to rape his little sister, but unlike the others, they didn't kill her first. He heard every scream from her throat and every laugh of the men as tears poured down his little cheeks. 

Then they raped him and knocked him over the head and he sunk into eternal darkness....

When he next came to, he was in the Academy, which was obvious. He felt the boy had no knowledge of anything, not even his name. 

A man came up to him and told him where he was, that he had lived here all his life, that he was just asleep for a while, and that he had amnesia.

They also told him his name. 

Wufei. 

He went through his time at this school with ease and tried to hide from the other kids. He met Duo and found him nice and was easily accepted by Duo's friends. 

But They took hideous advantage of the fact that he didn't know much about the world. 

There were many times they raped him and told him it was normal. That was part of any normal school. That the more it hurt the stronger he was and that he wanted to be strong no matter what because strength was everything. 

So many times they told him these lies.... 

So easily he agreed.... 

Duo wanted to scream. How could he believe their twisted tongues?! How could anyone do this to another human being? How could someone take advantage of someone else like that, because they didn't know anything about the world?!

That was dishonorable.... It was sick.... It wasn't *right*.... 

But now it seemed obvious that no one cared what was right anymore. They were all just selfish and wanted everything for themselves.... No one cared about anyone else....

How could no one care about anyone else....? Wasn't that what made people human?

Or were They no better than dogs...?

Duo fell out of the portal and his eyes immediately shot open. 

He felt the bile rise in his throat as the graphic pictures of Wufei's parents being tortured and being raped and his sister and even him.... So young and innocence.... 

He tried to get up, but fell weakly to the floor, vomiting roughly. 

Heero jumped out of bed when he heard this, not being a very heavy sleeper due too all his time running away from people, threw on the light and grabbed Duo's long hair out of the way. 

When he was quite through, he wiped at his mouth, sobbing shamefully and turning away from Heero in embarrassment. 

"I'm sorry...." 

"Shut up!" Heero yelled at him angrily, grabbing him and hugging him to his chest. "You're always apologizing to me! You don't have to apologize!" 

Duo flinched back at his harsh words and sobbed harder against him. 

"What's wrong, Duo...? Why do you wake up like this...?" 

Duo's tears soaked Heero's chest and saturated the bandages he wore. 

"It was nothing.... Just a stupid dream...."

"A 'stupid dream' that made you sick? Dreams that make you cry?" Heero asked in obvious disbelief. 

Duo nodded dumbly. 

"Well, I suppose it doesn't matter.... I've got to clean this up...."

Heero sighed deeply and set Duo down on the bed then, taking a few trips down the hall, managed to clean up Duo's mess. 

Once finished, he lay down next to Duo. 

"You must have some pretty heinous dreams," Heero mumbled sleepily. 

"When you're whole life is pretty heinous, it's not any surprise," Duo replied as he fought down more tears. 

He was so tired...and so sick.... Sick of the Academy. Sick of the dreams of Visions or whatever the hell they were. Sick of the pain....

Sick of living. 

If you could call it living, that is. What he did was not 'live'. He 'was'. He did not live, he was. He was just a ball energy on the Earth manipulated to anyone's whims and desires. That wasn't living. 

It was being. 

No, no. He was wrong. He wasn't sick of living, one couldn't be sick of that which they have never experienced. No, he was sick of being. 

He was dying to live. 

"Heero.... You don't have to be here if you don't want...."

By this time, Heero had almost slipped into sleep and was clutching Duo's braid in his hands like it was a teddy bear. 

"It's not like you wouldn't...have come...into mine...." Heero murmured back.

Duo was content. 

If Heero wanted to be there, then he certainly didn't mind. 

He was strong, warm, and everything Duo wanted in a lover. Though the dream was fugal, he couldn't help but hope that maybe they would have a chance.... 

Someday....

Maybe they would get out.... Run away.... Build a little house.... In a little forest...or even a little meadow.... With lots of wildflowers....

No one would want to hurt them.... 

They could be happy.... Together...forever....

Free. 

"Thank you...." Duo whispered, inaudible to Heero's ear, then speaking up, he said "good night." 

"Sweet dreams...." Heero murmured back. 

Duo smiled sadly and choked down a sob as he wrapped an arm around the other boy's waist, letting his head fall against his chest. 

"I'll try...."

~Til Then~  



	8. Goodbye Yellow brick Road part 8

**Part Eight**

Duo had to prove it to them all. 

What he had just wasn't simple dreams, oh no. They had to be Visions. 

It was true; he didn't know what the common thread was. He thought it could have been the book, but realized in the second Vision, there was no book present. 

But still, the book seemed to be the force holding this whole thing together and the biggest piece of trouble in the whole scheme of things. 

So he had to find the book. 

If he could find the book, then he could prove his dreams weren't just nonsense. 

And the only place to find the book was in the library. 

His four friends listened to his plan with growing anxiety and disbelief. 

"You...you aren't really going to do this, are you?" Quatre asked softly. 

"Why not? You all think I'm going insane here and over reacting, I have to do something! I just *know* these aren't just stupid dreams!" Duo cried, frustration bringing tears to his eyes. "It's the only way to prove it!" 

"What if you are caught...?" Quatre spoke up once again. 

"Well, that's just the chance I'll have to take, no?" 

"I believe you, Duo, if you think they're Visions."

"No you don't," Duo spat at Quatre in disgust. "Don't lie to me. I will. I'll find the book and then you all will be wrong. You just watch me."

With that he got up and stormed off, not going anywhere in particular, but wanting to get away from his friends. 

He would prove them all wrong! He's show them all! There was a book and something important was in it! They'd all know it soon enough! 

"Duo!" 

Duo stopped and turned and glared at Heero, who was following him and caught up with him. 

"What? Have you come to berate my idea too?" 

"No," Heero replied smoothly. "Not at all. Remember," he spat cynically, "what have you got to lose? They can't kill you. The worst they can do is beat you, which you're used to, or throw you in with the loonies." 

"So someone listens to half of the things I say?" 

Heero rolled his eyes. "I'll help you, Duo. I don't think that this is the safest thing to do, however I know that I can't stop you and at least you have a thought out plan. I might as well aid you as best I can if you're just going to do it anyway."

Duo looked at him and blinked. He realized what a long way Heero had come since they first met. They were able to talk, and it was actual talk. And he was willing to be helpful. Even if it was just to him. That meant something to him, even if it didn't to the rest of the world. 

"Thank you, Heero," Duo spoke softly, looking into his eyes with all the gratitude in the world. "I don't want everyone to think I'm crazy anymore...."

"I believe you," Heero told him truthfully. "Regular dreams don't do that to people. As for my help, I'm the only person who's able to take those Bands off, right?" 

~~~

It was late and anxiety filled every thread of Duo's being. 

Heero took his Bands off and Duo rubbed his wrists nervously. 

"If you don't want to do this, you don't have to." 

"Hah. I can't back out now."

Heero smirked in the dark. 

"Good." 

Duo looked at him. 

Good?

"That's what I like about you. Even though you're caged up here and afraid of the consequences, you're still dying to live."

Now Duo flat out stared. Could he read minds, or did he just feel the same way?

In one past life he was a young man drafted into the war. He was so happy to go out and kill the enemy, shoot them down, conquer and destroy. 

But as he lay dying in a muddy trench, he realized the importance of life and freedom. 

Everyone deserved to live, didn't they? It was a right, wasn't it? Given to them by the Divine. No one should be able to take that from someone else. Only the Divine. What was given by the Divine, should only be taken by the Divine. 

This was what he believed. 

He may have never experienced freedom or 'life', for it was taken away from him by these people who thought that they were more powerful than the Great Divine Above, but he knew it's importance from the body which he had inhabited so long ago. 

"Well.... It comes with being an Incarnate," Duo muttered nervously as he thought over his plan, completely missing how Heero's face fell in utter shock. 

"What?"

"Hmm?" Duo replied, looking up at him. 

"You're an...Incarnate?" 

Duo shrugged. "Yeah. Don't tell anyone now," he spoke, turning serious. "I'm not fond of the idea of being a total experiment for the rest of my life." Throwing his hair nonchalantly back over his shoulder he said "I wish to somehow be a part of that which fills my soul, someday...." 

Heero smiled. "Of course." 

"We'll get out of here, Heero," he beamed, speaking confidently. 

"Of course," he continued with the self-pleasing and confidence-giving lie. "What did you expect?"

"I don't know. I was just being foolish. We can't be in here forever. There will be a time when I'll be able to walk down the street, just because I feel like it. I might even take a little walk down the road everyday!" Duo spoke boldly. 

"Oh, yes," Heero agreed. "And no one will think anything of it." 

"Yes.... Of course...." Duo turned sad, looking at the floor as tears filled his eyes. 

"Are you going to be able to do this?" Heero asked carefully, touching his bare shoulder. 

"Ye...yeah.... Give me a few seconds.... I'm going to be okay.... Sorry...." 

Duo sniffled a little and wiped at his eyes, smiling weakly at the other boy. 

"I get too damn happy every time I think about living. It's a bad habit. I'll.... Yeah. I'll be going now then." 

Heero leaned over and brushed a kiss across his forehead. 

The other stood in total shock at the move and momentarily forgot everything he was supposed to do. 

Forgot the plan...forgot the freedom.... Forgot living.... 

Everything but Heero. 

The way he smelled.... His strong, warm presence as it leaned down over him.... The way his hands felt.... Cupped around his face perfectly.... How his firm, soft lips touched his skin.... 

Heero looked at the boy, who blushed lightly in the darkness, and let his hands fall to his sides. 

"Where I come from, it means good luck," he explained easily, hiding his shock from his own actions. 

Was it that he wished Duo good luck...? Or was it something more...?

Heero wasn't even sure himself anymore. 

"Thank you, Heero, for everything, really.... You're...you're not such a bad guy, on the inside," Duo told him, watching as he turned his back and went over to his bed. 

Heero snorted. "You don't know me, on the inside."

They said nothing else as Duo slipped out the door. 

He knew that this was going to take a consternate amount of concentration as he tried desperately to get Heero out of his mind. 

He couldn't be thinking about that right now. 

He had to be on alert. 

If They found out what he was doing.... It would surely be the death of him. 

Yeah, he said they couldn't kill you, but he didn't quite believe that completely.... 

Using an intense amount of Talent, he hyped up the tiniest sound so that it carried to his ears throughout all of the halls for a mile in all directions. 

He wasn't taking any chances. 

And if someone did catch him, he had to opinions. 

Haul ass. 

Or blow them off the fucking Earth. 

He didn't really want to do either, and so he didn't want to take any chances. 

Especially since the latter was going to be the option he was going to take. If they knew Heero could take off the Bands.... He didn't want to inflict any more pain onto Heero's tortured soul. 

But that brought him back to the subject of Heero, which he was desperately trying to avoid at all costs. 

However more and more it seemed that that was all he could think about.... 

Wanting to scream, he slunk stealthily down the halls and into the library. 

Every so often he would pick up on the sounds in the dungeon and it would make him shudder violently. 

How could Heero have ever reached a low so low that those people were of interest to him? How could anyone feel protected and happy with that creepy laughter?

Finally, he came to the library and stood be for the gigantic closed doors and took a deep breath. 

This was it. The time of truth. 

And he really didn't want to be wrong. 

Tracing his finger lightly over the designs on the door, his hand connected with the handle and he pulled lightly............

But the door didn't budge!

He pulled a little harder and it didn't move an inch!

It was locked!

Locked!

After how far he'd come and how careful he'd been, it was locked! The only way for him to prove his sanity, and it was locked--!

How could this possibly be--?

It just.... It wasn't fair!

It wasn't fair!

In utter silence he let a few tears drip down his cheeks as he turned away, leaned back on the door and lifted his hands to his face, completely dropping his guard, and let his sobs wrack his body.

~Til Then~  



	9. Goodbye Yellow brick Road part 9

**Part Nine**

Duo was quite upset the next day, that was safe to say. He refused to talk to anyone. 

He didn't want their jeers. 

He didn't need it right then. 

"Duo," Heero spoke that night as he gazed out the single, triple-barred, tiny window. If he looked hard enough, he could almost see outside....

"Shut up and leave me alone," Duo spat angrily, pulling the thin sheets tighter around his shoulders. 

"The door was locked, wasn't it? It wasn't that you were wrong; it was that the door was locked. Right?" 

"Yes," Duo muttered weakly. "But you're the only person who believe me. Why? I don't know.... I don't even believe myself any more...."

Heero walked over, picked Duo up out of his bed with his immense strength, and smacked him hard across the face. 

"Come on, Duo. Don't be a baby," he growled, and with a look of disgust, dropped him back on the bed. "It's no wonder no one believes you. It's hard for people to believe someone who is unsure of themselves."

Duo thought about Heero's words and realized he was right. 

But it was so hard.... So hard to believe he was right when he was the only one.... 

"Heero.... Will you.... Will you...maybe...sleep...with me?" Duo begged softly, trying to cling on to the one thing he knew was true, and hoped was more than just friendship. Tried to grasp onto something that was stronger than him. He had to have something. He couldn't let his whole world slip out from beneath his feet. 

He needed Heero more than anyone would ever know.

Heero snorted. "No. You disgrace me. Find out what you believe and then I might be into spending time with you." 

Heero knew it was wrong...using his need and desire for friendship and a helping hand as almost a form of blackmail, but he also knew that freedom pivoted on Duo. 

What Duo didn't know was that he too was an Incarnate. 

Long ago he had a Vision....

~~~

Duo stood in the foolish field with its absurd clouds and ludicrous sun and ridiculous music box and wanted to scream. 

"What in the fuck do you want from me?!" 

Of course, there was no answer and so he cut directly to the chase.

He didn't want to be there and he knew what he was supposed to do. He was supposed to go to the door, walk through one, and see what it showed him. 

Well, he was sick of it. Sick of it all. Of not knowing what he was seeing, of being laughed at, of watching his friends be hurt when they were little.... He didn't want any more. 

So he would do just as it wanted and grin and bear it. 

But for the life of him, he could not find the four doors. 

_'No.... You must want it....'_ the celestial voice scolded him softly. 

"Fuck it all," he muttered. "Who in the hell wants to be going insane?!" 

As soon as he spoke the words, fear jumped into him, even if it was just his dream-self. 

Was he...was he going insane? Was that...it? Would he be locked away...? Would he be one of the people he had feared all his life...?

_'No.... You must believe.... You must want to learn....'_

"But I do!" Duo cried, falling to his knees, clutching at his hair and screaming up to the sky as tears streamed down his face unbidden. "I want to know what's wrong with me! I want to have my life back, no matter how pitiful! I want to know what's going on!" 

_'Then you must believe.... You will be guided, but you must believe....'_

The voice returned unhelpfully, but as Duo wiped the tears from his eyes, he realized that the four doors had appeared before him as if by magic.

Duo looked at them suspiciously, but he had no option but to go through another if he ever wanted out. 

So he chose the green door. 

Water. 

At first he didn't understand what he was seeing, or more specifically, *why* he was seeing it. 

It wasn't like the others where he was a little kid. No. He was watching a man in a whorehouse doing what one normally does in such a place. 

He realized that the man he was watching was a Student. 

He also realized the woman would be pregnant. 

A few years later he was a little boy. The little boy of the mistake. The little boy whose mother was a whore. 

He was a fairly happy little boy, Trowa was. His mother kept him fed and clothed and even though she wasn't always around, she protected him and kept him safe. 

He would walk around and look at all the little shops and just generally be a happy little boy living in the bliss of childhood. 

He knew however that he had a little magic and he was afraid to show anyone because the Academy loomed in the distance of everywhere in this town in it's outskirts. 

Towns encompassed the Academy all around, so Duo had no idea which of them he was in. 

So Trowa was a scared boy. He didn't want to be sent there. He heard bad rumors in the streets and was told that any boy sent there might as well be going to hell. 

But that was all they deserved anyway. Anyone with Art was a making of the Dark Lord Himself. 

However Trowa thought that he could tell his mother. She never much cared about anything, would it be so bad to tell her?

One night he did and she immediately made plans to send him to the Academy. 

She was a young girl, only maybe fifteen or sixteen when she had given birth, and she was scared. She thought her child was poisoned, but more importantly, she thought she was poisoned by that man who had bedded her five years ago. 

Inside she cursed herself and screamed. She knew she shouldn't have done it, he was less than devil's hearten, but he had so much money.... 

So Trowa was placed in the Academy, and might as well have been from birth. 

He tried to forget how his mother had done this to him, but it would always pain him and he would never trust women. 

Women were not a chief source of comfort for him. Usually they were spreading rumors and making him feel bad about himself and then the only woman he could truly 'trust' dumped him off here. 

Men were something he wasn't experienced with. The men here told him he was beautiful and gave him sex. His mother always told him that sex was the highest compliment and she was always accepting when someone asked, and he felt loved. He felt like he meant something. 

He eventually got tired of it, though, so when he met Quatre.... He was immediately drawn to how sweet he was. He was almost like a woman, but he didn't spread rumors and he didn't make him feel bad about himself. He was kind of screwed up too, unwanted, and so he felt that he could find a sanctuary inside of him. 

Duo landed on the other side of the doorway and stood, looking at the other side of the door. 

Sure enough the music box was still ticking away its jaunty little tune. 

But the other side of the door looked nothing like the meadow of before. 

When he entered the doors previously, he had awoke before he could see the other side. 

But now.... 

It was a completely barren landscape, almost like a desert. Green lightening screamed from the skies, but there was no rain. 

In the mists of it, Trowa stood, holding the book open in his hands. 

"Trowa!" Duo screamed, running toward him. "Trowa! Can you hear me?!"

Trowa had said nothing and just stood there as slowly he closed the book and two tears streamed down his cheeks. 

"You have to help us, Duo," he spoke softly, his voice sounded warped and echoing through the landscape which previously seemed unable to support an echo. 

"Trowa! I don't know how! What's in the book? It has the answer!" he cried, running and running. But no matter how fast or how long he ran, Trowa was always ahead of him. 

"The book doesn't have the answer," he returned, dropping it among the sand, which immediately sucked the book into its depths. "The answer is within you. It's within all of us and you have to find it." 

"Why me?!" Duo screamed, tears now dripping down his own face as he stopped, his hands tightened into fists, his body feeling weak, and his lungs working over time for running so long. 

And Trowa was so far away.... 

"Because you have the ability to control people.... People will listen to you, if you believe in yourself.... You have to lead people.... You have to show them.... You have to conquer...."

"Conquer what, Trowa?! I don't want to be any of this! I don't believe myself! This is just a stupid dream and what Heero said is influencing it! Why won't you leave me alone?" 

"The secret lies within you.... You must find it.... You must lead us...."

"Trowa! Don't go!" Duo shrieked, running after him once more as he turned and disappeared in a flash of brilliant light and Duo stopped and stood there. 

It began to pour. 

~Til Then~  



	10. Goodbye Yellow brick Road part 10

**Part Ten**

"Long ago there was a man by the name of Shukan who had great Visions," the Teacher/Drone spoke in the mindless monotone one came to expect. 

Duo tried not to doze off as he 'listened'. 

"He wrote down most of these and they became the Fifteen Prophecies. However, one is missing. We know there are Fifteen because he often speaks about them...."

Duo doodled on the paper in front of him mindlessly. He realized what he was drawing and scrutinized it. 

Heero holding him in a valley of beautiful flowers. 

Immediately he ripped it out and crumpled it up. 

Not only would he be locked away forever if They found him drawing that, but it was stupid and frivolous and would only prove to hurt him in the end. 

Everyone turned to look at him with the paper between his hands and he gave a magnificent smile. 

No one found it too unusual, but the Teacher was once again upset for him interrupting the class. 

He cursed himself mentally. 

Heero hadn't even talked to him for the past two days. But it wasn't like he was talking and Heero wasn't answering. He was in part to blame because he was hiding. 

He didn't believe there was anything special about the stupid dreams he had been having. 

That was what he believed. 

Yet there was still a little hesitation.... 

Why couldn't Heero just give him a little consolation?

It was obviously too damn much to ask. 

~~~

Duo lay in the East 'Garden' after classes. It was really just an untended mob of weeds that they wanted to call a garden to keep up appearances. 

Why they wanted to do that was also beyond Duo, but as stated, he didn't ask questions. 

His shoulders shook violently as he sobbed into the grass, completely alone in the whole school, in the whole universe. 

He'd never felt so bad before, so low. 

There was nothing left to look forward too. 

Even the sun above him seemed dull and jaded. 

Just like him. 

What was there to live for?

He would never get out of this prison, he'd never have love, he'd never have a life. 

He'd never live. 

He'd always be on the inside of the wall. 

They say that grass is always greener on the other side, but Duo didn't know how he could be lucky given the circumstances. 

He sat up suddenly with impetus deep in his soul. 

He had to get away, but he couldn't do it with this body. 

So he'd get away in soul. 

Wiping his eyes on the back of his arm he stood and faced the brick wall on the other side of the garden. 

He had to get out.

With a deep breath he ran full force into the wall, slamming against it, his head connecting with the rock and stunning him momentarily as he fell to his knees. 

He felt the blood began to trickle down his face. Sticky, warm, red.... 

It ran over his lips and he tasted the faint copper as he licked them, standing and falling as the world spun wildly around him. 

He coughed, his breathing paining him as he crawled away from the wall, trying to keep focused. 

He wasn't dead yet. 

He had to die. 

He had to be free!

He had to get away...!

Standing in the desolation around him he balanced himself and wiped his now soaked bangs out of his face, concentrating on the wall before him once more. 

Just one more go and he'd be gone.... 

He'd be free.... 

He had to.... 

He was dying to be free, and he would die for his freedom. 

Screaming he ran, pelting himself as hard as he could into the wall and knocking the breath out of him. He heard a loud cracking and a sharp pain seared through his shoulder and up and down his arm, through his chest, and faintly he realized that he had completely destroyed his left arm by completely mutilating all the bones where his arm joined the socket. 

He found it harder to breath as he lay on the ground, staring up at the sun. 

Why had he not died yet?!

He wanted to be free.... Was that so much to ask...?

His sight was now obscured by blood and tears as he stumbled away from the wall once more. 

But his vision was perfect. His vision of freedom was unsoiled.

On weakening legs he stood, cradling his ruined arm in his other hand, and he faced the wall as if it were a monster he could not get past, but had to face. 

"I will be free!" he shrieked as he ran, picking up momentum and was suddenly pulled back by strong arms and pressed to someone's chest. 

With his good hand he beat his captor and screaming and cried. 

But he would not let go. 

"I want to be free! Let me go! I need to be free! One more go, dammit! Let me go! Let me go!" he cried, his voice harsh and burning the words.

"Shut the fuck up," the voice replied and Duo was so taken aback that he did. 

It was Heero. 

He sobbed into Heero's tunic and Heero bore with him. He was bleeding so bad from his head that he would have thought he'd had a concussion. Heero pet his hair and tried to soothe him. 

Why...? Why? Why couldn't he die and get it over with? Why...? Why? Why couldn't he be free? Why? Was there no mercy? No pity in the Divine? Why...? Why was he still here? 

He sobbed so hard he ended up vomiting all over Heero, who didn't really mind considering he was covered in blood and tears anyway, and just hugged him tighter as he passed out in his arms. 

~~~

Duo came to in his room. 

It was dark and quiet and he couldn't feel his left arm at all. He had a pounding headache that made his world spin around him and made him feel nauseated. 

Slowly he sat up and his stomach flipped over as he retched onto the sheets between his legs. 

He gagged a little and wiped harshly at his mouth, moaning lightly and feeling so bad he might as well have been dead. 

Swallowing, he clutched at his stomach as two tears ran down his cheeks from the pain. 

Suddenly he realized that he was being watched as the figure stood and yawned, laying the back of his hand across his forehead. 

"Hmm. That was really stupid of you," Heero muttered as he carefully stripped off Duo's sheets and exited the room with them. 

Duo knew it was stupid, but he if he had the chance to do it again, he'd do it again and see if he couldn't just impact a little harder.... 

Once again he moaned and tried to vomit, but had nothing left. 

Heero walked in and when he saw this, he took a little pity on Duo. He must have wanted death pretty bad to try to kill himself by running into a wall, but it sure was a stupid way of attempting death. 

"You're body is going into convulsions. I'm sure the migraine you're bound to have probably isn't helping. You really screwed yourself by doing that. You're arm may never work to it's full potential again."

"I don't care," Duo struggled out before heaving again. 

Heero sighed and stripped the sheets off his bed and laid them on Duo's, spreading them over his knees where he sat. 

Heero wanted to smack him and tell him that he should care because it wasn't right to go and commit suicide, but he also wanted to sit down and hold him and tell him that he mattered to people and that he shouldn't kill himself because people cared about him. 

Both of which he knew wouldn't be appropriate for the situation. 

So instead he said, "By all right, you should have had a concussion. Hell only knows why you don't. You should be dead."

"I only wish," he spat, hugging himself. 

Heero sighed once more. "I'm not going to pretend like I know everything you've been through," he said, "but I know that I've had a pretty jacked up past and that I wanted to commit suicide, but I figure that the Divine must have had *some* reason for giving me life, and it certainly wasn't so that I could just go and commit suicide."

Duo thought about this and glared at nothing. No, Heero didn't know everything he'd been through, but he did have a point. 

Suddenly he felt sick again and covered his mouth weakly with his single mobile hand as he tried to throw up. 

Heero propped him up against some pillows as he began to cough violently. Drawing his hand back, it was covered in blood, as were his lips, and his breaths came ridged and painful. 

"You're going to wish you were dead with this recovery process," Heero mumbled darkly as he washed off Duo's hand with a wet cloth. 

"Heero...." he whispered, fear obvious in his voice. 

Heero rolled his eyes, glad Duo couldn't see the gesture. 

He climbed into the bed with him and laid him down, wrapping his arms around his body. 

Duo shuddered and tried not to be sick again as he snuggled into Heero's warmth shamefully. 

Heero was too sweet. Sleeping with him and cleaning up after him and continually accepting him through all the stupid things he'd done since they met. How could he keep it up? Didn't he hate him after everything he's put him through? 

"Try to get some sleep, huh?" Heero whispered as he sunk into the pillows. 

Duo nodded, which made him feel a little sick, but tried to ignore the feeling. 

"Everything will be okay...." Heero murmured as he slipped into sleep, dead tired from sitting next to Duo for the past three days, waiting for him to awake. 

"Are you...sure...?" Duo asked back, frightened. 

"I promise."

~Til Then~  



	11. Goodbye Yellow brick Road part 11

**Part Eleven**

Duo found himself in the field, happy music fluttering through. Strangely enough his arm was fine. He supposed that real life had no affect on this vision of his body. 

He ambled through the grass and thought. 

Maybe it was all real.... He *had* to have a purpose, right? Like Heero said....

Well, he wanted to find out what that was and so he searched eagerly for the doors. 

They appeared in front of him and he gazed at the last one. 

The one for Spirit. 

Suddenly it hit him hard. 

Earth, Spirit, Water, Fire. 

Heero, Trowa, Wufei....

The next one had to be Quatre!

The black, white, green, and red must be their auras!

It made sense, since the aura reflected the person. 

Heero was an Earth Artist and was black and black was a color of protection and it meant that a person was trying to protect themselves or shield themselves from the outside. 

Trowa was a Water Artist and was green and green was the color of sensitivity and growing compassion. It reflects a sympathetic and calm person who is reliable, dependable, and open-minded. 

Wufei was a Fire Artist and was red and red was a color that reflected a person who had a temper, aggression, and impulsiveness. It is dynamic and reflects anger and strong passion of the mind and will. Also it shows the awakening of latent abilities and talents. 

All of the colors fit and that meant that white had to be Quatre!

Which would also make sense. 

White was the color of purity and truth, which Quatre most certainly was. 

He smirked to himself, proud he had figured that out. 

So, happily for once, he walked through the last door to meet his fate. 

It was obvious he was Quatre. The little boy with curly blond hair who strangely resembled a girl. 

He was the heir to the kingdom and had plenty of everything he wanted. His father he never knew, but his mother was a radiant figure in his life and he always strived to be like her. 

Then she caught consumption. 

He sat by her bed day and night and tried to comfort his dying mother. Inside he knew that she was going to die, but he never wanted to believe it. His mother was angelic, eternal, and she could never die. 

With her passing away, it was exposed that he had the Art. 

No one wanted an Artist as a leader, let alone an untrained, six year old Artist. 

So they sent him away. 

He was going through an emotionally disturbed state and being shunned by everyone he knew for something his mother thought was fine crushed him further. 

All the Teachers and Council were especially pleased with this she-boy they got in and took turns regularly with him. 

This just made him retreat into his female being and made him long for some sweet man, for once. 

Which he found in the quiet, fearful Trowa.

He also needed a man who was louder and would protect him. 

Which he found in the flamboyant Duo.

Duo found this undeniably sweet and heart breaking, at the same time. It was nowhere near as gory as Heero's past, but in it's own way, it was devastating. 

He stepped out into the desert, with white lightening, this time. 

He noticed Quatre sitting down, back to him, in the distance.

Not knowing what else to do, and wanting to comfort his friend, he walked toward him. 

But stopped abruptly when Quatre spoke. 

"Duo.... You have to be strong.... Be strong and find the Secret...or else.... Or else we'll all...die...."

Suddenly he fell over, his head rolling off to the side, blood and maggots seeping out of the once beautiful, but now broken, body of his best friend. 

Duo lifted trembling hands to his mouth as he stepped away from his mutilated friend. 

Blood puddled and seeping into the sand as maggots swarmed and crawled in and out of both openings where his head managed to be disconnected from it's body. 

Then a huge spider crawled across his closed eyelids and tried to plop right on into his nose, but got stuck halfway through the left nostril, the end side of it's body sticking out, it's little legs wiggling spastically as it tried to get out of it's little entrapment. 

Duo felt his stomach turn as he watched in sick fascination as it struggled fruitlessly in its cage.

Then Quatre's once blue eyes popped open. But instead of blue, they were a muddy brown, the color of dried blood, and rolled right out of his head and across the ground, stopping near his feet, the disgusting yet accusing pupils staring up at him. 

Looking back at the disembodied head, he found to his horror that cockroaches and tiny white maggots were pouring out of the empty sockets that once contained the gorgeous eyes of Quatre. 

Suddenly, one huge rat tried to wriggled out of the confines of the eye, clawing at Quatre's skin, which was slowly receding, and Duo screamed. 

He awoke with a start, yanking out of Heero's grasp and turning to the bucket on the side of the bed they had put there due to Duo's convulsions, and relieved himself of his dinner. 

Duo hated to throw-up, that much was true. He'd done so well the past week, the convulsions going away, and he even went to class. 

He just *had* to have that stupid dream....

Heero shifted and propped himself up with one arm, the other he used to slowly stroke Duo's hair with. 

"Are you okay?" 

Duo swallowed, shuddered, and tried to nod as he lay back down, snuggling against Heero's chest as he tried to get the disturbing picture of Quatre out of his mind. 

They had, on a happier note, finally moved the beds together and enjoyed the new arrangement very much. 

"Was it a dream, or was it something else...?" Heero asked, concern showing in his voice. 

He decided that being friends with Duo would be okay. As long as he didn't become too attached, it would be okay.... 

"It was a dream.... Like the others.... Oh Heero! It was *so* nasty!" he cried, clutching the bed sheets and snuggling closer to the other boy. "I still feel sick. But I did find some good in that dream."

"Oh?" 

"I'm hoping the color in the doors matches your auras. I will have to ask Quatre tomorrow."

"What will that mean?" 

"I have no fucking clue. Probably absolutely nothing...."

Heero snorted. "Are you always so negative?" 

"Do you think I ran into that wall for fun?" Duo spat back. 

Heero looked down at the sheets and rubbed his thumb gently over his hand. 

"I didn't mean anything by it," he murmured. "I can't say I didn't try."

Duo sighed and hugged him closer. 

"It's okay.... It's just kind of a touchy subject for me.... I wish you hadn't have stopped me and yet I'm so glad you did...." 

"Duo.... You have to believe that you mean something.... That you will be better than you are right now.... That you will escape the confines of this living hell. Trust me, this isn't so bad, right now...." 

He felt bad, and almost selfish, that he had attempted suicide where as Heero was trying to be optimistic. 

His life wasn't as hard as Heero's. 

There was no conceivable way. 

Yet he was a selfish baby and tried to do it.... 

How could he?

Carefully he snuggled up against Heero's side as Heero brought the sheets back over them. 

As he drifted into sleep once more, how was beyond him, he felt Heero's lips against his forehead as he softly spoke the words "good night". 

~Til Then~  



	12. Goodbye Yellow brick Road part 12

**Part Twelve**

Duo didn't see Quatre or Trowa at lunch the next day, and this upset him. He was finally having a little break-through in his dreams or Visions or whatever they were and now Quatre wasn't there to prove it. Even if he did just walk up to some random Spirit Artist to ask about the auras, neither Quatre nor Trowa would be there to prove that he was right. It would look like lucky guesses if he only got Heero's and Wufei's. 

Still yet.... There was no common thread.

After Fourth Block Class, Heero told him he had an idea and dragged him back out to the East Garden. His blood still stained the brick wall and even the grass and embarrassed him, but Heero had dragged him there and he would do anything for Heero. 

Heero was, in a sense, his savoir. His guardian angel. 

Not to mention that he had a crush on him. 

Duo stood dumbfounded in the square, bricked in piece of nothing as Heero went around to different dead plants and messed with them a little. 

"Heero?" he asked, scratching his head. "Is it just me, or did you finally crack?" 

Heero turned around to him and gave him the biggest, goofiest smile he'd seen on the other boy yet. 

Bounding over he grabbed Duo's good arm and opened his hand, placing something inside of it. 

"What's this?" Duo asked, opening his hand to see hundreds of little, what looked to be, pieces of different plants. 

"Seeds," Heero told him, as if obvious. "This place is alive, Duo, really it is. Nobody comes out here any more and nobody cares."

"No shit. What we're doing out here is still beyond me. I like to be one of those people who completely ignores the fact that there are gardens at all."

"Well, of course! That's because it's not a garden! Come on, Duo, we can turn it into one. You and me and we can come here to get away from all that shit. Don't you see?" 

Duo looked at Heero like he was insane. 

"Are you sure that taking those Bands off was healthy?" 

Heero rolled his eyes and took them off once more. 

"Watch, Duo," he growled, taking the seeds back and sitting on his knees on the ground. "Watch and tell me you can't see the beauty in this. If you've seen and felt anywhere near as much pain as I have, you'll understand why I want this.... You'll understand why the smallest things are the most beautiful...."

Digging in the earth with his bare hands he made a shallow pit and poured a few seeds in. Burying it back up, he moved his hands across it in an uplifting motion, and being an Earth Artist, flowers sprang out of the ground to his bidding, twisting up and winding around one another. 

Duo's breath caught with the deep red roses and had to admit, they were beautiful.... 

Heero snapped one off and plucked off the thorns, walking over to Duo. 

"Tell me you won't help me fix this place up," he spoke, tucking the rose behind Duo's ear. 

Duo hesitated, tears gleaming in his eyes as he thought. 

"What...what if They catch us?" he finally whispered, fear saturating his voice. 

Heero snorted. "Who cares? Who cares any more, Duo? They can do whatever the hell They want. I really don't give a damn anymore. Besides, we're not doing anything bad, are we? We're planting some flowers. Who gives a fuck?

"If you won't help me, Duo, then I'll do it all alone."

The last statement got to Duo. 

Heero had done so much for him. More than he should've ever done. More than Duo ever dreamed that he would do. 

It wasn't fair that he wouldn't return even a little of that kindness. 

Besides.... A place for them.... Just them.... Beautiful.... 

It sounded nice.... 

A lot like the dream he had.... Where Heero and he could spend their time together...forever....

He wanted that. 

Duo sighed. "Okay, okay. I'll help. Just tell me what to do."

Heero smiled more glorious than ever before as he showed him how to get the seeds off the flowers and plants. 

That night they finished. The sun was going down, the faintest blaze of color peeking over the brick wall. The moon was coming up, her face round and full. 

It was almost time to go in, but they didn't want to right then. Right then, they wanted to admire what they did. 

Heero clicked the Bands back around his wrists and fell back into the nice, fresh green grass. He had breathed a lot of his being into that garden and was tired from the exercise. 

But unlike in a Lesson, it wasn't the tired that filled your body with pain and despair, it was the kind of tired you got after a long, fulfilling day's work where you wanted to lay down and doze off, not lay down and die. 

Still smiling inanely, he gazed up at Duo, who stood over him, not being able to keep a smile from his own face. 

Reaching up he grabbed Duo's long hair and pulled him down to the earth. 

"Are you proud of what we did?" he asked as he clutched Duo's limp hand in his own. 

Duo nodded as his heavy eyelids kept begging him to let them drop. 

"Good. As long as you are proud of what you did, no body can take it away." 

~~~

Quatre awoke in an unfamiliar room. He knew he was somewhere in the school, but where was beyond him. 

He felt he had an awful headache that pounded in his head and he wanted to scream. 

Blinking and taking in his new surroundings, he sat up. Looking around he saw Trowa sitting on a bed across from him. 

"Trowa!" he cried, fear taking hold of him as he jumped up and tried to rush to the other boy. 

Halfway there he ran into a field, a huge jolt of electricity jumping and connecting with his body. He screamed as he fell backward upon the floor, stunned. 

Trowa awoke to the sound of his lover's scream and his head snapped over in time to see the other fall with a thud to the ground. 

"Quatre," he whispered, realizing in an instant that some of the Teachers or Council had brought them down here to play a little 'game'.

If trying to get to him shocked Quatre like that, chances are the same would happen to him if he tried to get to Quatre. 

He heard a deep throaty laughter and his green eyes narrowed to slits, his head jerking around, glaring out at the figure on the outside of the bars they were locked behind. 

"What did you do to him?" he growled, standing. 

One of the three robed figures turned to him. "Don't you think it's clever? Fire and Spirit really do work well together, when you know how to use them correctly."

"What did you do?" Trowa asked again, in a hushed wrath. 

The figure tilted it's head toward him and even through he couldn't see what expression was painted on their faces, he knew they were amused by the mockery in their voices. 

"Oh, it's quite simple really. We just weaved the threads of both Elements together in an intricate pattern nothing short of a Quadruple Band."

Trowa sneered. "I'm not stupid. There is no such thing as a Quadruple Band." 

Suddenly a jolt of electricity shot out of the middle of the room and stuck Quatre's body hard. The blond boy gave a slight moan, his body arching for a moment before falling back upon the stone floor. 

"Quatre...." he whispered and shuddered. He couldn't get to him.... He couldn't get to his love....

Turning to the laughing men he spat at them. 

"You are nothing less than dogs!" he cried in anger. "How can you hurt someone like that?" 

"We don't like what you're saying, Barton," one warned, letting another jolt strike Quatre, who's body jumped to the impulse very much like a dead frog does when you spice it with electricity. 

"Stop it!" Trowa screamed, charging at them, trying to reach them through the bars and maybe wrap his arms around their throats.... 

Suddenly he felt all the Energy in the room build up and with a quick turn of his head, he saw the gigantic ball of Energy pass through the field of Fire and Spirit they had made, glowing yellow for an instant before they released it all on Quatre. 

There was a hideous scream. The kind of scream that makes you want to burry yourself into a little hole forever. The kind of scream that makes you're skin crawl until you're ready to rip it off. 

That ear-splitting, horrifying shriek came from Quatre's lips. 

By this time Trowa was on his knees, hugging himself, tears streaming silently down his face as the three men laughed and laughed. 

He dared not look at his lover. Just a glance was enough. His hair was charged with static electricity, his back forming what looked to be a permanent arch, his eyes open wide, his mouth gaping even after the scream had died.

It pained Trowa too much that he could not be there for this boy he had promised to guard for as long as he had breath. 

"Why are you doing this?" he growled, his eyes gleaming in the little light of the room.

The three men stopped laughing and stared at the man behind the cage. 

"Answer me," Trowa demanded quietly, his eyes sparkling with revenge. "Why are you doing this? What did he do to you to deserve such punishment?" 

Not a one of the three men could answer. 

They weren't doing it for a reason. They were doing it for fun. 

"I swear to the Divine, yes I swear, with all the powers in me, with all the life force in me, I swear," Trowa started softly, darkly, growing louder as he spoke. "I swear you shall never get away with this, you filthy dogs! You bastards! You shall never get away with hurting such an innocent as you have hurt Quatre!

"I swear to the Divine above that I will avenge him someday; I will kill you."

~Til Then~  



	13. Goodbye Yellow brick Road part 13

Part Thirteen

Duo's sole concern of the moment was two things. 

And one of them wasn't what the Teacher was saying.

One was what the common thread was in his dreams. He hadn't had one since the last, about four days, and he really wanted to know if they were more than just simply intense dreams. 

The other was on what happened to Quatre and Trowa. It was like 'poof!' they were gone without another word. He hadn't seen them for the past four days either. When he snuck by Trowa's room, he was nowhere to be found, and Wufei said that Quatre wasn't in for the past four days either. 

It was safe to say that the latter was easily winning over his thoughts, though he should be dwelling more on the former. There was nothing he could do about Quatre and Trowa, no matter how much it hurt to say that, but if he figured out the common link between his dreams it might tear away at the wall of ignorance that glared ominously down at him. 

_'Okay.... What's the same....' he asked himself. 'There's the book, but it wasn't in all of them. The field, no.... The first two didn't take place in a field. I wonder if they're torturing poor Quatre and Trowa.... Poor Quatre.... He's not a very strong person.... If they kill him I'll never, never forgive them. Never. Hopefully Trowa will be able to-- No! Don't think about that! Think about your dreams! The book is ruled out, the field is ruled out. The doors are definitely ruled out. The voice? No, no. I was reading H'sung in the first one and that's what told me where to go. Where did Quatre and Trowa go? Stop it Maxwell! There has to be some little detail that probably drove me to insanity in the dream, but I haven't thought of otherwise.... What's really driving me insane is the thought of Qua-- No! Stop! Think about the dreams! Little detail.... Like trees or clouds or.... Or....' _

"Music!" he shouted in jubilation and everyone turned to glare at him. 

"Yes, Maxwell, I'm glad you're so excited on our topic for class today, but if you would shut that hole in you're face maybe we could continue?" the Teacher growled. "As I was saying, music first came about when...."

Duo blushed and his brained worked over time. 

_'It's the perfect detail! The music box! So small I wouldn't remember it and in every single one! I was right! I'm not insane! Wait. Does this mean that everything that happened in those dreams is true or will be true or whatever? Well, I figured some of the stuff about Heero was true, but.... Oh my....' _

His brain sent him spiraling down hill and he couldn't wait to get out of class and talk to Heero and ask his opinion on it. 

~~~

"What do you think?" Duo asked softly, tears in his cheeks. They were in their garden, Duo's head resting on Heero's stomach. Heero gently brushed his forehead with his fingers, playing in his bangs. 

Duo had an unexpectedly hard session for Fourth Block and was mentally exhausted to the point where just thinking about the Bands, or Quatre and Trowa, or even the Visions would dissolve him to tears as he talked. 

"I'm proud of you. You figured it out. I mean, I can only take your word for it. They weren't my Visions. I mean.... What do you think? What made you so upset? Are you afraid it might come true?"

Duo sighed. "The second scared me, but the others.... Most of them were just glimpses of all of your pasts. Quatre's, Trowa's, Wufei's.... Yours." 

Heero sat up immediately in surprise, Duo's head falling into his lap. 

"Mine?!" 

"Yeah, Heero.... I didn't want to tell you," he cried, realizing that Heero was upset with him and not able to mentally accept that fact. "I didn't want to tell you because I was afraid you'd think I cared or that I was betraying you or something! I didn't ask to see it, Heero! I couldn't help it! I didn't know!" 

Heero stood and paced back and forth for a few minutes as Duo lay in the grass sobbing. 

Finally he had given up, realizing that it really wasn't Duo's fault, and sighed, sitting down next to Duo once more and pulling him into his embrace. 

"So I suppose you know all about Yovva and how I.... How I killed Hren...."

"I know more than that," Duo whispered, his voice hoarse from crying. "I know how.... I know what they did to you when you were brought here...." Heero flinched and squeezed his eyes shut at the memories. "I know how they locked you up with the lunatics and you enjoyed it because they didn't hurt you...." A tear slid easily down Heero's cheek. "I know why you were mean to me at first, that you were scared...." 

"Enough," Heero begged, lifting one hand to try to keep more tears from falling. 

Duo wrapped his good arm around Heero's waist and gave him the best hug he could manage. 

"It's okay.... I don't care. No matter how much shit you've been through, you're still my friend and nothing's gonna change that."

"How can you even stand to say that?" Heero asked, almost mad at Duo for being so naïve. "How can you look at me to know that I have killed like that?" 

Duo smiled weakly. "I don't know. Maybe I'm just stupid. I don't believe you're a bad person. I think when you were younger you had a bit of a temper, but I think you learned. I don't believe you're going to kill me." 

"Why not? I'm able to, aren't I?" Heero muttered, hugging Duo closer to his chest like a frightened child might clutch a doll. 

"When you hold me like this, scared, confused, in your strong arms, I realize you are nothing more than a child inside. I don't think you want to kill. I believe you will try to protect me, because you are afraid of death, aren't you?" 

Heero began to tremble. 

Duo.... Duo was getting to him. He was so sweet and smart and beautiful.... He was everything he needed at the moment....

"I'm afraid of hurting people.... I'm afraid of being left alone.... I'm afraid of what I might do.... I'm afraid I'm going to act irrationally and screw up once more...."

"Hey, that's what I'm for. Remember? We have to watch out for each other. I'll try to help you keep your temper down if things get serious and you can help me stay strong."

"I'll try," Heero whispered. 

"That's all anyone can do," Duo replied. "I'll try too." 

~~~

Duo stared up at the ceiling as he thought about what his next words would be. 

"Hey Heero, I decided something," he spoke boldly, hoping that if he spoke loud enough and acted like it was nothing, he wouldn't break down and cry. 

"Hn?" 

"I decided that since I know your past, you should know mine, right? So I'm going to tell you." 

"You don't have to if--"

"I'm going to tell you," he repeated once more, louder, afraid of backing down. 

Heero was quiet. If this was important to Duo, then he would listen. 

"I was an orphan as soon as my mother could rid herself of me. The people in the village pitied me and fed me occasionally, but I really didn't mind so much. I laughed at everyone who had to do as their parents said while I could play all I wanted. Sometimes it would get to me, but overall, I was a pretty content little kid. 

"However, I was also a very pretty little kid. I looked almost like a little girl, as some boys do. I don't think I'll ever lose that much of myself, even if I do cut my hair," he mused with a strange smile Heero couldn't read. 

"Then, as they sometimes do, a bunch of slave traders came in and considered me a bargain since I was basically free. I didn't know that they were the kind of traders that sold children to prostitution, but I was just pissed at being taken in. I fought like a devil. I knew they wouldn't kill me if they could fetch a price. They threatened to, but I didn't believe a word of it. I was a pretty smart little kid, not that I'm bragging, but being abandoned almost from birth does that to you, ya know? You have to learn something to survive." 

Duo felt he was doing a good job. He wasn't crying yet and Heero was still listening. 

"It wasn't hard for them to sell me to the school. The teachers here are all horny bastards and they like any little morsel they can sink themselves into," he spat, scrubbing at his stinging eyes. "Once they found out I had some Art, they snapped Bands on me and threw me in here. 

"It was almost fifteen years ago now.... 

"I was only five years old."

Heero, in surprise and pity finding a home in his heart, hugged him closer and rested his chin on the top of his head as Duo sniffled a little. 

"I've been here all my life. There's nothing more to it than that. I've.... I know that I was allowed to roam where I pleased when I was younger, but I don't remember any details at all. All I know are these stonewalls and classes and pain. I like to think that when I'm free, I'll forget about this like I forgot about freedom when I got in here. But I don't think I'll ever truly be able to get away from all the pain...."

Heero kissed his forehead gently and caressed his back. 

"Then I'll try to remember for the both of us...."

Duo blinked and looked into his eyes. "What do you mean?" 

"I'll remember for the both of us. Listen...."

Heero began to paint a graphic picture of fields and trees and mountains, then began to narrow it down, to a good sized village, and elaborated on that. He described all the people. The baker who had a bad habit of cursing even while he was trying to be polite. The blacksmith, whose only fault was his intense love for beer. The crazy woman in the middle of the town that glared at little kids and yelled if a toy chanced upon her yard. The taverns where people went to dance and smoke and gamble and tell stories of battle scars and try to impress everyone else. Where pretty women danced and taunted the men and younger boys talked grandly about saving villages and beautiful maidens they would ride off with. 

Duo tried to hang on every word, memorize it so he knew it by heart. So that he could bring it out at any time and remember just why it was he cared to live. 

But the sound of Heero's voice was so beautiful and relaxing and the picture so heavenly.... He quickly found himself, to his extreme disappointment, slipping into sleep. 

Heero smiled as he wrapped the blanket closer about the sleeping Duo's form. 

What Duo didn't know was that Heero could've continued the story forever, just to see him so hopeful. 

Heero knew they had a prayer, but he couldn't say why just yet. It had to be his secret. All he could hope was that Duo, Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei could hold on just a bit longer.... 

Just a little longer....

~Til Then~  



	14. Goodbye Yellow brick Road part 14

**Part Fourteen**

Duo sighed as he wandered down the halls pointlessly. Heero had a hard session and was recuperating in the room. He was busted up pretty bad. Duo winced when he had to change the bandages.

"Poor Heero...." he whispered.

Me please....

Duo stopped dead and tensed up.

Was that...Quatre?

I'm so tired Duo.... I pray you hear me, somehow.... I've been screaming for hours, but I need you to hear me.... My body aches, I'm dying in here.... Trowa....

Duo felt tears spring to his eyes. He could hear the pain in Quatre's thoughts and the hopelessness. Like his mind had crawled up into a corner and was screaming and crying like a little child in a thunderstorm.

They're hurting us.... They wove Fire and Spirit into a wall.... If you try to pass, you get struck by it and you can't go any further.... Oh Divine, the pain.... I can't move my body.... The pain is so intense, I'm in shock.... Trowa.... Oh, Trowa, Trowa, Trowa....

He began to weep in his mind, which was truly the saddest thing that Duo had ever felt in all his time on Earth. Whoever could cry in their mind had to be in illegal amounts of pain.

Duo.... Please hear me.... They wove Fire and Spirit and you can't get past.... They threw a jolt of it at me.... I hurt so bad.... I don't think I'm going to live this time.... My body.... My breath.... DUO! Trowa, my Trowa.... He'll protect me.... Trowa, Trowa, Trowa.... Trowa.... DUO! Hear me! They've woven Fire and Spirit! Help! It hurts! Trowa! Help me! I can't--! Please! Help me! I'm dying! My breathing.... Slower now.... It's soothing to breath slowly.... It doesn't hurt so bad when you're breathing slowly.... Duo! Are you there? They wove Fire and Spirit into a wall that shocks you when you go past! Trowa's on the other side.... Trowa, Trowa, my Trowa, Trowa.... Protect me.... Trowa, Trowa, Trowa.... DUO! HELP! Hear me.... Please....

Duo began to run.

Where was Quatre?!

Where was he?!

He wanted to scream it, get an answer. Why couldn't he talk telepathically?!

That question was answered easy enough, but he didn't like the answer.

"Where the fuck is he?!" Duo screamed down at Heero.

Heero rolled over on the bed, moaning slightly and blinked up at him.

"What?" he asked groggily from sleep.

"Oh my gosh.... I'm sorry if I woke you up," Duo apologized immediately, not even realizing he had entered his room at all or was even in the right hall.

"Now I want to know what you're talking about."

Duo sat down and let his head fall into his hands and squeezed his eyes shut against tears.

"Quatre.... I heard him.... I don't know where he is.... He said something about so much pain he couldn't move his body.... A wall woven of Fire and Spirit that shocks you.... Said Trowa was on the other side.

"He was crying in his mind, Heero. He was sobbing in fear, in his thoughts. He was in pain in his thoughts. They sounded hurt."

Heero stared at the other boy and tried to figure out what he was talking about.

Quatre had spoken to Duo telepathically since Quatre had discovered the trick. Usually thought-speech was a little tinged with pain or happiness, but never in overwhelming amounts. Just enough so that it wasn't monotonous. Never in the history of his being had he ever felt so much emotion in a thought.

It scared the hell out of him that someone could be that pained.

"I'm scared, Heero...."

Heero once more took emotional pity on the boy, but there was nothing physical he could do about it. He was in pain too and he didn't really feel like sitting up right then.

"I have no idea where he is."

"Aren't you at least a little concerned?!" Duo cried, angry that Heero had taken such a cold stance to the situation.

"Look, Duo, I'm in my own pain right now, okay? Besides, don't you know *any* thing? They wove a blanket of Spirit and Fire. Quatre's Art is Spirit. It would be more helpful if he had an emotionally understanding Fire Artist, but he should be able to unbind the blanket with not too much heart ache, if he thought about it hard enough. It's probably just a stupid test. They're not going to kill him, right? And everyone has to be able to take a little pain to survive. Remember saying that? Didn't think so," Heero growled, closing his eyes and turning his head to the side.

Duo felt bad when he realized that he was completely ignoring Heero's feelings about the situation and that he was also in pain too.

"I don't mean to argue," he started softly, "but Quatre isn't a very strong man and I've been afraid for a long time now that they would work him too hard and kill him. I'm sorry I forgot about your circumstances. I should know better. I know you wouldn't completely ignore my friend's well being."

Carefully Duo lay down next to his friend, being tender with his wounds and wrapping his arm around him, cuddling up to his neck.

"I'm sorry.... Quatre might not be very strong, but he's smart. I know he'll figure it out. I'm sorry Heero.... Forgive me?"

Heero sighed and growled a yes, his body sending waves of pain washing over him.

"Thank you...." Duo whispered as a few tears rolled down his cheeks for Quatre.

~~~

Wufei's breathing came heavy and he tried to slow it down. He heard the door open and shut his eyes tight.

The bed was comfortable, at least. If he had no choice about his bed, he could at least pray it would be a comfortable one, and this one was.

It was adorned with silk and the mattress stuffed almost to packing hardness with goose down and the pillows were down, too, and covered in the softest sheep's silk. It was warm underneath the blankets, the silk heated and a thick blanket of Angora over all of that.

But the warmth could never take away the pain.

He hoped that if he pretended he was asleep, then maybe they'd believe it and give him a little time to recuperate.

The sex was normal, he knew that beyond a doubt, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt.

Two voices began to talk softly amongst themselves and Wufei tried not to moan in horror. Two people were not a good thing.

"That garden sprouting up over night? You're calling that feasible?" a voice asked.

"Well, do you have any other explanation. Maybe the Divine--" a different voice spoke up and was cut off.

"Oh, shut it. There is no 'Divine'. That's just something people made up that didn't accept the Lord as our Ruler," the first voice reprimanded harshly.

"Well, do you have a better explanation?" the second growled.

"Is he asleep?"

"Most likely. Besides, even if he isn't, he says anything and we'll kill him. We always need extra human sacrifice for the Lord, now.... He gets so particular...with the resurrection and all...." the second spoke nonchalantly, as if speaking of the weather, and it had taken a lot in Wufei not to flinch and panic when he talked about killing him as if it were normal.

As if they knew he was awake.

"True, true.... Well, here's what I think," the first started up, his voice growing softer out of habit. "I think that they know how to take the Bands off and I think they know they mean nothing."

"Oh, you shut it! That's completely folly! They know the Bands mean nothing?"

"It's possible!"

"And take them off?"

"It's possible!"

"Oh, yes, possible.... I believe the Divine existing is more possible than *that*. Ryunin, we've taught them since they were babies that they'd die without the Bands. The one thing the human soul fears the most is dying," the second explained.

"Which shows how little faith there is in their Divine," the first broke in.

"Very true. They know nothing beyond what we have taught them. And as for taking the Bands off.... That's utterly ridiculous. No one can take the Bands off. The only way that's remotely possible is for the person to have faith in our Lord. None of these sniveling boys takes faith in our Lord. They all prance around believing the Divine is going to save them and you know what. Take them off...." the second sighed with frustration. "And if they could, don't you think the lot of them would gang up on us? Sometimes, Ryunin, you make absolutely no sense."

Both were silent for a while and Wufei tried to keep his sanity.

His whole entire world just came crashing down around him.

The Bands meant...nothing? He wouldn't die with them off? They had lied all this time?!

These men, who had nurtured him and helped him in his time of need? Taught him everything he needed to know about the world? Took him in even though he was virtually useless with no memory of anything that had ever happened to him?

They gave him his past and his name.... Was it all lies? Everything he ever believed...his whole entire world...composed of...lies?!

"What should we do about him, Bruoo?" the one named Ryunin asked softly as he watched the 'sleeping' Wufei.

Bruoo sighed. "Let him sleep a while longer."

"Are you growing soft?" Ryunin laughed at his friend.

Bruoo growled. "Soft? Me? No."

"Oh? Then what is your explanation for letting him sleep? It used to be that you'd fuck everyone once over and go back for more. Now you let him sleep?"

"Do you know who this one is?"

"Of course not," Ryunin scoffed. "I don't care about my toys."

"He is the one we named Wufei. We gave him his memory too, remember? The elaborate lie we made up and perfected together while he slept?"

Ryunin chuckled softly. "The little prince...."

"Aye. The little prince...."

"So? He is ours now. Our toy. He doesn't know he's anything other than a simple boy who fell out of a tree and hit his head and lost his memory."

"Yes, but he is also most pure of blood. He is first choice for our Lord when He has risen. We must not give Him un-presentable gifts. We have to be a little more gentle with this one."

"True, Bruoo, true.... Yes. We will let him sleep a little longer. For our Lord."

Wufei heard the clinking of glasses before he fainted.

~Til Then~ 


	15. Goodbye Yellow brick Road part 15

**Part Fifteen**

"Hey," Wufei murmured as he walked up behind Heero and Duo. 

Duo jumped and turned to face his friend. 

"Wufei! I thought you disappeared like Quatre and Trowa! I haven't seen you in three days!" 

Wufei coughed lightly. "It was for other reasons." 

Both knew what he was talking about and didn't further push him. 

Duo thought for a moment before looking at Heero. "Let's show him." 

Heero hesitated, knowing exactly what he meant. 

He wanted to show Wufei their garden. 

No! was Heero's immediate reaction. It was theirs. No one else's. His and Duo's place to be alone.... No one else but them.... He didn't want to show Wufei their secret.

"Aw, come on Heero. Why not?" Bringing his mouth up against Heero's ear he whispered: "he's hurting too." 

Heero sighed grandly and pouted. 

Wufei tilted his head and looked at them curiously. What were they talking about? 

It never crossed Wufei's mind to be polite and try to decline. He wanted to know. He was never taught manners. 

No, the Teachers lied and gave him a past, but they couldn't ever give him simple humanity. Respect, manners, feelings. 

He was a child, a baby in a young man's body. 

"I guess," Heero agreed grudgingly. 

Duo smiled and then immediately smacked himself out of it. If you appeared too happy, one didn't know what They might do. 

The three of them walked out of the North Courtyard without too much suspicion on their shoulders and made their way to the East Garden. 

Duo made Wufei cover his eyes and brought him out into the middle of it before he could open them. 

When Wufei did, he almost fainted once more. 

Was this what they were talking about? The two men? This beautiful garden spread out before him? The cool, lush grass under his bare feet felt nice. The vibrant, live colors splashed against his eyes and he almost couldn't believe that something could be so...vivacious. It seemed impossible.... All his life inside the stonewalls.... It felt so dead. 

And here before his eyes was something real, living, breathing, alive. He almost couldn't believe it was there. 

"I think he likes it," Duo whispered to Heero, his chin resting on his shoulder from behind. 

Big tears began to roll out of his eyes unbidden and slide down his cheeks. His shoulders began to shake as he lifted his hands to his eyes and covered them with shame. 

"Who did this?" he asked, voice wavering even as he tried to stop the tears. 

Heero and Duo looked at each other before Duo answered in fear of what Wufei would think. 

"We did." 

He spun around and pinned them with a look of disbelief. 

"Y-y-you?!" 

Duo nodded slightly. 

He began to back up, his eyes the size of bowls. 

Neither Heero nor Duo knew what was going on and chased him to the end of the field until he slammed into the brick wall. 

Right where Duo had tried to commit suicide. 

Blood surrounded his form as Heero clamped a hand over his mouth. Wufei tried to scream and bite and kick, but Heero kept his hand firm. 

"What in the hell's your problem?" he growled, snapping his jaw shut finally. "If you promise not to scream, I'll move my hand and you can tell us calmly what in the hell you're freaking out about." 

Wufei nodded sullenly and Heero let his hand fall away, but keeping Wufei against the wall. 

Duo was rubbing the top of his useless arm self-consciously and fearfully. Would Wufei tell their secret? Would they get in trouble and be hurt? He didn't want to be hurt.... 

Maybe Heero was right and they should've just kept it their secret. 

"Which one of you is it?" he asked, looking as though he was trying to disappear into the wall. 

"Which one of us is what?" Heero replied, frustrated. 

"The one that believes in...the Dark Lord...?" Wufei whispered fearfully, his eyes darting from Heero to Duo and back again. 

Both Heero and Duo gasped and looked at each other. 

"It's not me!" Duo cried. 

"What are you talking about?" Heero asked Wufei. 

"They said that the only way to take off the Bands is to believe in their Lord and you had to take off your Bands to do this," Wufei explained, hugging himself and trying to get out of Heero's grasp. 

Heero let him go and giggled. 

Wufei had slid over to join Duo and both of boys glared at him with hurt and confusion in their eyes.

"That's right. The only way to remove the Bands is to believe in the Dark Lord. They were created in Evil and one must be connected with Evil to manipulate it. Shukan's Second Wisdom. This is true." 

"Heero--!" Duo cried, his eyes filling up with water. 

It wasn't fair!

The boy he loved was Evil like the rest of them? 

"Do you really believe that I worship a falsehood, Duo?" Heero asked, a little hurt. "Do you really believe I worship their false Lord?" 

Duo couldn't answer. 

That's what it looked like to him. 

"Remember, Duo, I'm an Incarnate, too. In one of my past lives I was a woman who was rightfully burned for believing in that. Not only did she believe in Darkness, but she was a Witch. Whenever I want to take off the Bands, I tap into that side of myself."

Duo's facial expressions softened a little. He wanted to believe what Heero was saying was true. 

Wufei, on the other hand, wanted an explanation that made sense. 

"Incarnate?" he spat. 

"Yeah, like Duo," Heero replied, jerking a thumb at him. 

Wufei turned to Duo and looked at him fearfully too. 

He never heard of such a thing before. Were they all--? Was Duo just a creation of the Dark Lord?!

Duo grabbed Wufei's hand and lead him to the middle of the garden, Heero following. 

"Let me explain, Wufei. An Incarnate is someone who can tap into their past lives. It's nothing more than that. I'm not evil or anything, I just happen to have an ability that most people don't. It's almost like another Art, persay." 

"You can see your past lives?" 

"Uh, huh," Duo replied as Heero sat down behind him. "And I guess.... I guess Heero can too." 

Heero nodded as Duo fell back into his lap and he gently stroked his bangs. 

"Come here, Wufei," Duo teased, trying to grab his clothes and pull him down too from where he was laying in the grass. 

"No," Wufei replied coldly, trying to stay away, but Duo had latched onto his shirt and wouldn't let go, pulling him closer and onto the grass. 

The three boys lay together, warmed by the sun and the calm of being around people that gave half a rat's ass about them. 

And suddenly Wufei just began sobbing. 

Heero and Duo shared a look of perplexity and concern. 

"Hey Wu.... You kay?" Duo asked, pulling him closer to the circle. 

"They lied to me...." he stuttered. "They lied to us all. The Bands mean nothing. You can keep them off and you won't die. They lied to me. They told me I was a simple village boy.... They said I was a prince and they were going to give me to their Lord. I don't want too! I don't want too!" 

Duo kept him close as he cried, trying to explain himself. Duo knew Wufei wouldn't admit it, but he was afraid. 

"Do you want to know your real past, Wufei?" Duo asked him softly and Heero grabbed his limp hand and clutched it between his own two. 

He knew it was going to be hard for Duo to tell Wufei what happened to his parents and sister, and he knew it was going to be hard for Wufei to take, so he held Duo's hand and tried to be supportive. 

"You...know?" Wufei asked, almost a little angry that someone other than him knew his past. 

Duo nodded. "I had Visions, remember? I found out they were real.... I saw your past...." 

"Tell me!" Wufei cried, greedily. It wasn't fair that Duo should know something about himself he didn't know. He always felt a part of him was missing, that something just didn't quite add up, and for Duo to have the answer was almost overwhelming. 

So Duo told him everything he knew. 

By the end, both boys were crying upon one another and Heero felt a little uncomfortable in the situation. He knew that Duo was just scared and hurt by everything that has happened to him since they met. To Duo, at their introduction, his world had forever changed. Heero knew that this is what he thought, for on occasion he told him and sometimes said he wished they'd never met. Heero had no fear that in an extremely tough spot, Duo would come out on top and everything would be fine. 

Wufei, on the other hand.... He never thought he would live to see the day Wufei cried, and yet he had done so a few times since they entered the garden. Duo was correct in his belief that Wufei was also in pain, that was obvious. But he had seemed so sure of himself, so positive.... 

Maybe that came from the lack of his self-assurance? Maybe the fact that he felt he knew very little about himself made him act more like he was always right? He didn't want to doubt his existence and so he acted as though everything he did and said was right, so that he wouldn't have to mistrust his state of being and himself.

Heero found this an almost amusing state for someone to be in, however he knew that laughing would be inappropriate, and stuck to stroking Duo's long honey-brown hair. 

It was really very beautiful.... Duo really wasn't such a bad person.... In fact, quite enjoyable.... Sometimes he acted foolish, but that was kind of cute.... He was smart, there was no doubt about that, and Heero felt him an equal in conversation. Someone to be esteemed on certain points. 

Yet.... He didn't want to screw up again.... Trying again meant that you might also screw up again.... 

How would he be able to survive if he added more blood to the stains on his hands?

~Til Then~ 


	16. Goodbye Yellow brick Road part 16

**Part Sixteen**

Quatre's hand slid a little closer to the invisible wall. He was laying on his stomach right next to it, his head turned to the side, his aquamarine eyes staring deep into Trowa's emerald ones. They had taken to laying this way for comfort, though Quatre wanted to reach through and grab Trowa's hand. 

"I just realized something," Trowa murmured. 

"Hmm?" 

"They removed our Bands before They put us in here." 

Quatre did feel his Art coursing through him unhindered, but he found that nothing to rejoice about. 

"They want us to die, Trowa," he whispered, unable to control his fear. 

"I don't think so, Quatre. I just don't think so," Trowa mused. 

The three men weren't around at that particular moment, and though it was probably all fuzzy logic, he felt safer talking when they weren't around. 

"What do you mean?" 

"I mean I think the Bands don't mean anything at all." 

Quatre gasped. "What?" 

"I think they only use them to control us. They keep our Talents in check, but that's about it. We've been here how long now?"

"At least a week." 

"Exactly, and we've fallen to no illness and we haven't died yet."

There was sense and truth to Trowa's words, though Quatre didn't want to believe that They lied all that time. 

"It's all been a bluff...." 

"Seems that way.... Quatre? How strong are you?" 

"Not very and you know that. If anyone picks a fight with me, I'm the one that will go down."

"No, no," Trowa shook his head slightly. "With your Art, I mean." 

"Oh! I feel.... I feel like I am very strong and well knowledged in my Art. I can do a lot and control a lot more than other Spirit Artists on the grounds. At least, that is, if they tell the truth." 

Trowa thought before he spoke his next words, for he didn't know how Quatre would take it and he didn't want to get his hopes up and then dash them upon the ground and have Quatre feel guilty. 

"Maybe you would be able to unravel the threads."

Quatre's eyes grew as he stared at the other. 

"You're right! The wall is made of Fire and Spirit! No wait," Quatre sighed. "Shukan's Third Wisdom...." 

"Solitary tied threads will fall into their element? Quatre, my Talent is Water. I can quench it." 

Quatre's eyes no filled with hopeful tears. 

"What happens when they come back?" 

"We'll play it by ear." 

Then Quatre sat up and scooted away from the invisible wall, crossed his legs and began to 'feel' it with his Talent." 

He giggled as Trowa got ready to put out the Fire threads. 

"This is very sloppy. I could do soo much better," Quatre told his lover, very pleased with himself. 

Trowa gave the other a small smile, proud of Quatre. 

Almost immediately, fire began to fall and Trowa spun a quick web of threads and caught the falling Fire threads, squelching them immediately. 

They would've run into each other's arms, but both were knocked out before they could. 

~~~

"We've got to find a way out of here," Duo whispered in Heero's ear as they walked to the Garden. "We have to formulate a plan." 

"This is true, but that will be dangerous." 

"Fuck danger. I want *out*." 

"Yes, but want is no excuse for lack of caution." 

"Yes, but--"

Both stopped dead to see Quatre and Trowa in the middle of the garden wrapped around each other's seemingly lifeless forms. 

"Are they--"

But before Heero could finish his question, Duo had dashed over, tears streaming down his cheeks, and threw himself upon Quatre's body, sobbing. 

"Duo? What's wrong?" Quatre asked sleepily, turning over a little. 

Duo blinked back in surprise, then laughed. "Oh, I'm sorry. I jumped to conclusions. I hadn't seen either of you in so long.... I thought you were dead." 

"Exactly why we're going to have to plan this so carefully," Heero spoke, walking up. "We can't afford to jump to conclusions." 

"The Bands mean nothing!" Quatre cried suddenly. 

"Yes, so Wufei proved to us, not to mention Heero told me that in the beginning but I didn't believe him," Duo told them as Heero sat down behind him. 

"They weaved a wall between us. We finally, okay so mostly Trowa, realized we weren't wearing the Bands and suggested I unbind the threads of the wall. I don't know if this was the best they could do or if they made it sloppy on purpose, but I knew immediately how to unbind it even through it was my first experience with such things. Somehow they set another trap and knocked us out as soon as the wall was gone. We woke up in our rooms with the Bands. Exhausted and certainly not going to class, Wufei told Trowa about this place and we came here. It was so beautiful and calm we fell asleep." Carefully Quatre lay back down and snuggled up against Trowa's still sleeping form. 

"Yeah, Heero and I did it," Duo replied, shinning with pride. "Heero can take off Bands." 

"That's right.... How did you get by Shukan's Second Wisdom?" Quatre asked, confusion in his voice. 

"I didn't. No one can just 'ignore' one of Shukan's Wisdoms. I just happened to tap into one of my past lives in which someone did worship Evil," Heero replied. 

"Really?" 

Duo nodded. "Heero and I are both Incarnates." 

Quatre nodded solemnly. "Things are going to get really scary, aren't they Duo?" 

Duo nodded. "However, if that's the price I have to pay for freedom...." 

"We have to get a plan together," Heero announced. "Here's what we have to work with. Two Incarnates, an Earth, Wind, Spirit, Water, and Fire Artist who are all very strong, no? Other than that.... Well, it has to be in the bounds of Shukan's Wisdoms."

"Yes.... But what about the first two? Good is created and destroyed by Good and Evil is created and destroyed by Evil. Isn't this whole Academy Evil? How are we to destroy it?" 

They pondered this. It was true, they couldn't ignore the Wisdoms, but maybe they could get around them....

"Wait a minute...." Duo spoke suddenly, sitting up, eyes shinning. "Heero can tap into his past life, right? Well, why can't you just channel that, Quatre, into all of us? Spirit balances everything, does it not? You should be able to do that, no?"

"That's true," Trowa suddenly said, sitting up also and blinking at the sunlight, resting a hand on Quatre's. 

"You've been listening this whole time?" Heero asked, amused. 

"Most of it," he replied. "Should we not also be able to combine threads as we weave them? Essentially combine our Talents and almost making them one?" 

A wide grin stretched across Heero's face, which surprised Duo most of all. Heero rarely ever smiled, but when he did.... He was radiant. 

"This is going to take practice, with Wufei too, before we can attempt this, but this is going to be how we do it. Quatre is going to have to channel us together through my past life and essentially, at the same time, strengthen our threads as we weave them, adding a few of his own to make a more dramatic impact...."

"We're going to be free...." Duo breathed, then looked at his friends and smiled wickedly. "It's only right we pay Them back for everything They've done to us."

~~~

"Duo, I have to talk to you!" Quatre called a little while later, dragging him away from Heero, who said he'd just go back to the room as they parted. 

"What's going on, Quatre?" Duo asked, cocking his head to the side. 

"Well, I know we're planning this whole thing, but that doesn't mean that we can just completely ignore our private lives, now can we?" 

Duo scratched his head, confused. 

"Never mind. I was just observing.... You have a crush on Heero, don't you?" Quatre teased, eyes shinning as a smile tugged at his lips. 

"Not at all!" 

"Oh, so that's why you lay in his lap every chance you get?" 

"No! It's an emotional thing! We understand each other. He knows that I need some strength and I know he needs something real to hold on to. That's all." 

"Oh? And that's why you follow him everywhere?" 

"We're friends!" 

"And you flirt with him? Come on, Duo, you really don't have an excuse for coming up behind him and wrapping your arms around his neck or teasing him, do you?" 

Duo sighed, looking at the granite beneath his feet. He didn't really want to admit that he had a crush on another boy, let alone someone like Heero. It just didn't fit him. 

Not to mention he hadn't a chance. 

Heero didn't look at him and think he was anything special. He would never see more than just a friend, of that Duo was sure. 

"Aw, come on Duo. It's okay," Quatre comforted, resting a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay to like a boy. What other choice do you have? Besides, a man can protect you better than any woman can.... Plus they can understand you better than a woman can." 

Duo still didn't like to give in, but he knew Quatre was right. 

"But even if he looked at me and saw anything more than a stupid fuck-up with dull brown hair and hideously strange eyes, none of it would matter because he only likes girls," Duo spat, rubbing his eyes on the back of his arm before he would cry. 

He didn't want to cry anymore. 

He wanted to be strong. 

"Now how do you know that?" 

"Because anyone with eyes can see it!" 

"Not all people who have eyes can see, Duo, maybe you can't. It looks to me like he likes you, too. He's always playing with your hair or dragging you down to lay with him. I don't know, but if he thought you were nothing, he probably wouldn't do any of that." 

"You don't understand the situation," Duo replied haughtily, walking away. 

Quatre sighed. "Fine then."

With that he turned in the opposite direction to go find Trowa. 

~Til Then~   



	17. Goodbye Yellow brick Road part 17

**Part Seventeen**

Duo and Trowa had woven together a little thundercloud and were chasing Quatre around with it, laughing, in the Garden. Heero was trying to perfect his rose making skills as he wove different elements into it. 

However, they were all waiting for Wufei. 

It had been almost two weeks since they decided to make a plan, and they had grown in strength and we're quite comfortable weaving in and out of each other's patterns. 

Everyone was proud of Quatre for holding out so long. It may have been one of the only reasons he had managed to. Entering Heero, finding the correct stream in his body, channeling into everyone else, and keeping it all going for an extended period of time always had him on the ground once he let it all go. 

They knew Heero was most important in the operation, being as he provided the way they would destroy what was around them, and decided that he would come last. Quatre would then go directly in front of him, second most important. Trowa, Wufei, and Duo would lead, Trowa being the most mentally and emotionally stable to lead them, Duo and Wufei at his sides. 

It would be complicated and thorough and they wanted to be ready. 

If all had failed, Quatre and Heero were responsible for killing all of them. 

Then Wufei walked in and they quit their assorted little games and settled down. 

"Sorry," he apologized heavily, sitting down in the grass. His entire torso was wrapped in bandages. "I had to tend to...myself." 

No one said much of anything. 

"We have to hope nothing like this happens on the day we carry this out," Quatre murmured. 

"Speaking of that.... When shall we do it?" Wufei asked quietly. 

"The full moon. Seven days," Duo decided. "Quatre should refrain from using his Talent at all until then." 

Heero nodded. "Agreed." 

"Agreed," Trowa also confirmed a second before Wufei and Quatre nodded. 

Everyone was quiet for a few moments before Duo cleared his throat. 

"If this thing fails, Heero, Quatre, you have to swear to me that you'll kill me," he told them, his eyes begging them and tugging at them. 

Quatre nodded solemnly, but Heero turned his head away, tears stinging his eyes and trying to break free. 

"Swear it to me, Heero!" Duo cried. 

"We'll talk about this later," Heero growled. 

Duo muttered under his breath. If he wasn't going to be free, he didn't know if he could subject himself to such torture, as he would have to if they didn't prevail. 

"Fine. We'll talk about it later," he spat back. 

"You guys, we can't fight. We need to be in sync with each other if we're going to pull this off," Quatre warned softly. 

They both new this was true, but Duo didn't want to live after such a thing and if Heero couldn't swear it to him, then he'd give him the silent treatment until he did. 

But he never held out long with those and after a while of chatting and making plans, he was lying next to Heero and clutching his pant leg in one hand as he talked.

Heero hoped that he might just forget about the whole thing about killing him, but when they got back into their room that night, it was the first thing Duo brought up. 

"Swear it to me, Heero," he spoke, facing him with his arm on his hip. 

"I...I can't do that," he whispered back in the darkness. 

"And why the hell not?! Do you want me to suffer?! If we don't make it the hell out of here, Heero, then do you have any idea how much torture I'm going to endure if I'm still alive?" 

Heero bit his lower lip as a few tears escaped his eyes. 

He didn't want to be crying. Not in front of Duo. Not right now. 

But he couldn't help it.... 

The picture was so vivid.... 

It hurt. 

"I can't.... Not you...."

Duo slapped him hard across the face, then froze when he realized that his hand had fallen against tears and Heero gasped, admitting a small sob. 

"Oh Divine...." he whispered, wishing he could take the action back with everything in him. 

He didn't know the idea upset him so badly...!

"I can't do to you what I did to her.... I...I can't.... Forgive me...." 

"Oh...my.... Oh, Divine.... Oh jeez.... I'm sorry...."

"I can't destroy any more beautiful people...."

"Oh stop that!" Duo cried, grabbing his chin and jerking it up, wiping the tears away from his cheeks. "First of all I am no where near a beautiful person!" 

"Have you ever seen yourself? How would you know?" 

"Because I'm not beautiful on the inside, that's why. It shouldn't be that hard to kill me when I never deserved to be born." 

"Well, then I guess I really am a baby," Heero replied. "Call me what you want, but I can't do that." 

Duo sighed and lifted his hand to his head wearily. "You've got to...."

Heero walked over and wrapped his arms around Duo's waist and held him close. 

"Don't worry.... We'll make it out...." 

Then, winning the award for the most unexpected gesture of the night, Duo began to cry softly on his shoulder and return the hug. 

"I just want it so bad.... Remember for me, Heero.... Please...?" 

Heero smirked and began to whisper in his ear. 

"Imagine this.... A huge green field littered in clover before you. The grass is soft and fresh and a breeze gently blows back your hair...." 

~~~

"Two more days.... Two more days...." Duo whispered, his mobile arm wrapped firmly around Heero's as they walked down to the Garden to meet their friends. 

"How are you doing?" 

"I can't sleep! I don't know how you can. I'm so nervous, so excited.... It's driving me loony just thinking about it.... I'm also kind of scared.... Scared of what's behind the walls.... I've heard stories, but still.... I can't help it. I'm scared." 

"Don't worry about that! It's the most amazing thing...." Heero answered. 

"I'm sure it'll be grand, but I'm still scared out of my mind." 

They opened the door to the Garden and froze.

"No...." Duo whispered. "No, no, no...." 

Heero knew it was bound to happen sooner or later, but he had to wonder if They knew about the plan, with Their timing.

"It'll be fine Duo. Remember? No one can take if from you if you're proud of it. They can burn down the world, but you'll always have the memories in your heart." 

Duo began to sob softly, trying very hard not to and take faith in Heero's words, but it was so hard when everything they had was burned to a crisp before his eyes. 

So close to the planed date, too.... Only two days away.... 

It was uncanny.... 

"Come on, Duo," Heero commanded when he saw how upset it was making him. "Let's go talk to the others.... Tell them what happened.... Tell them we're still going through with it...."

"We are?!" 

"Of course," Heero replied, defiance in his voice. "What do you think? We're going to let Them push us around like this? Oh no we won't. We're going to retaliate as well as we possibly can!" 

Heero's words had invigorated Duo. 

What right did they have to do this? They weren't hurting anyone with the Garden? Why did they just go and destroy it? 

The least they could do was show them they wouldn't be pushed around any longer!

"Come on Heero! We're going to show them a thing or two!" 

Heero smiled down at the other boy who looked so fierce and determined, finding it amusing. 

He was so cute when he was determined and mad. 

Duo grabbed Heero's hand and dragged him away to find Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei. 

"I don't get what you find so funny." 

Heero just smiled a little wider. 

"I don't think you'd understand." 

~Til Then~  



	18. Goodbye Yellow brick Road part 18

**Part Eighteen**

It was nearing nightfall and the five of them offered each other a few encouraging words before Heero snapped off the Bands and threw them to the side in the destroyed Garden. 

It may have been nothing visually, anymore, but it was still their Garden and it always would be. 

"Don't think too much. Trowa will lead us," Heero informed them, looking to Trowa, whose impassive face wouldn't show if he were nervous, excited, scared, or much of anything, really. 

"I know the plan," he spoke softly, then turned and grabbed Quatre's hands, leading him to the side. 

"Quatre," he whispered softly, leaning over and kissing his forehead. "Don't worry. You'll do fine." 

Quatre laughed hesitantly. "I'm going to try."

"I'll keep anyone from getting to you." 

"I won't blame you if you slip." 

"I won't," Trowa assured. "I feel like I was made for this. If somehow, something messes up, we aren't strong enough, we can't make it.... I'll be looking for you in Heaven." His fingers twisted around Quatre's. "I'll always keep you in my heart. Forever." Leaning in he gently let his lips trail over Quatre's with a feather light kiss that left Quatre clinging to his tunic in fear. 

"I don't want to lose you." 

"We'll never lose each other. I swear that much to you." 

Duo turned to Heero, who stared at the door, his face made of steel. 

In the privacy of his own mind, he wished that Heero were saying such things to him. 

But he knew there were much more important things to concentrate on and tried to keep that out of his thoughts as he began building his Talent. 

Little by little he added and added until he got to his full potential, his entire being filled with it and making him heady. He didn't think he could access much more than that, but one could never be sure.... 

With their last farewells, they blocked their personal thoughts from their minds and got in order. 

It was always a sudden rush when they felt Quatre enter them and fill them with more strength and they gained a heightened awareness of that which was around them. 

Each felt for the strand that Quatre was Channeling to them, the strand that would allow them to destroy Evil. 

Then Trowa started forward. 

Random students moved out of their way, mostly in fear, maybe even because they sensed the Talent radiating from the five boys. Who knew?

One of the things they regretted most was the fact that a bunch of innocent young boys were going to die or run around for the rest of their lives in hiding. No one wanted to be around someone with an Art, and they would forever have the Bands locked around their wrists. 

Moving on like a wall impossible to destroy, they met the hall. The hall that oozed black in its aura. The hall with all the prayers to the Dark Lord in H'sung. 

They all felt Quatre flinch through their connection, but he held strong as they began to weave. 

One could hear the wood groan and begin to crack and the stone grated against itself and Trowa quickly organized the weaves and shot them into the walls, until the building, tapping into Heero in order to null the Evil in the place. 

SHUNK SHUNK SHUNK

With a glorious 'crash!' the ceiling began to fall in from the end of the hall forward in huge slabs of granite. It fell and cracked the floor below them as it smashed and shattered. 

They heard ear-piercing screams as people were caught under the falling pieces of stone.

Blood began to ooze out from underneath the slabs, a deep crimson that slicked everything in its sticky warmth. 

Suddenly they heard screams from men behind them and Trowa quickly shouted out orders for them to rearrange themselves and the men were met by a wall of Spirit, Earth, and Fire which made their bodies go 'pop, pop, pop' and they exploded like kernels of corn over an open fire, splashing on Trowa, Wufei, and Duo. 

Duo wiped the blood and assorted chunks of flesh from his face and blinked rapidly, hoping to be able to see once more as they moved. 

BANG BANG BANG--!

As they walked forward, the walls behind them exploded outward, crushing everything behind them. At the same time, Trowa's dead eyes set targets of the people in front of him and sent weavings at them, making them split open and fall to the ground, their brains scrambled as, in the few seconds of life they had left, the bodies jumped and twitched. 

They would leave it forever behind. It didn't matter who found it, as long as they were away. 

It was like a revolution. 

They were leading the way. 

Duo wiped his bloody bangs back as he threaded out different strands, combining them with Trowa's and Wufei's, perfectly cool as men, bleeding, burst open, entrails sloshing out of their bodies, fell at his feet. 

Suddenly they realized they came to the end. 

There was no more. 

Just the open door before them. 

Everything behind them was rubble and blood and bones. 

But what...what was before them?

There was nothing left to destroy, nothing more to do but leave.

"Run!" Heero screamed at them. "Run! Before anyone figures out what just happened! RUN!!!" 

Immediately they let down guard and ran. 

Heero grabbed Quatre as he began to faint and bundled him up into his arms, blood soaking both of them as they began to flee. 

About a mile away from the building, Duo realized just what he did. 

He killed. 

Blood and gore covered every inch of his body. It was in his hair, it was on his hands, in his clothes.... He smelled it, he tasted it.... It was like a part of him.

He was so filthy.... He had killed all those people.... All those people that fell to his feet, their bodies mutilated.... Their minds fried.... They jumped even after they were dead.... Their spirits fought to get out of their bodies.... 

He'd killed them!

He stopped suddenly and began to claw at his skin, ripping off his tunic as tears spilled down his cheeks. 

"No, no, no!" he began to scream, scream futilely into the night air, his voice scratching and jarring over the word. 

"Come on, dammit!" Heero yelled at him, passing Quatre quickly on to Trowa and grabbing Duo's hand, which was slippery in his own blood soaked grasp. 

But Duo wouldn't budge. 

"We're not far enough away yet! We've got to move! Don't stop!" Heero cried, picking him up and beginning to run. 

"No, no, no!" Duo began to sob, pounding on his chest. "I didn't, I didn't! I didn't...!" 

Heero tried his best to ignore the screaming boy in his arms. 

But it was so hard when the things he said.... 

Heero soon found tears trailing silently down his face as he ran into the night, the crisp air making him shiver. 

They fled into the night, hiding from even the darkness, not knowing quite where to go or turn. 

They thought they had left everything behind them. Forever. 

But they had conveniently forgotten that they'd always have their memories.

~Til Then~  



	19. Goodbye Yellow brick Road part 19

**Part Nineteen**

Duo felt warmth on his face as he came too in soft grass. 

His eyes shot open and he realized he stared up at the bottoms of...trees. 

Yet...? How could this be? Shouldn't he be staring up at the stone of the Academy?

Then all the images came flashing at him. 

Everything that happened last night.... 

All the blood, all the people he'd killed.... 

He moaned and found himself retching painfully, tears running ramped down his cheeks. 

He sniffled and wiped his mouth and his eyes on the back of his arm, which was covered in dried blood, and looked up to find Heero sitting naked in front of him. 

"Am I in...Heaven?" he whispered, mostly to himself, then turned his head and saw the others and blushed furiously. 

"Don't worry," Quatre murmured from where he was wrapped in Trowa's embrace, both of them also naked. "The only person who didn't get humiliated was Heero and that's only 'cause he woke up first." 

Then Duo noticed they were all *clean* and was jealous.

As if Heero could read his thoughts, he grabbed him by the hand and helped him up. 

"Come on. I'll help you get all that blood out of your hair." 

Duo followed him to the side of a river and was obviously hesitant before stripping down and jumping in. Heero took his pants and disappeared momentarily before coming back with a few different looking fruits. 

He broke them open and weaved a few threads into them, mixing it all. 

"Quatre taught me how. He said it would help to clean, like Autria Soaps. It actually works." 

With that he hoped into the water, grabbing what looked to be like a brush made out of a flat stone, and making his way towards Duo, who was by this time thoroughly soaked.

He brought him to the edge of the wide river and began to lather on the mixture he had previously created, using his hands more than the brush to clean his hair. 

Duo stood content, soothed by the rhythm of Heero's hands. 

"Okay," Heero announced. "Go under now." And he rinsed out his hair. 

Heero then climbed out and watched, chewing on grass, as Duo bathed the rest of himself, trying not to get too turned on by the spectacle. 

Now that they were free....

But no. 

Freedom had nothing to do with that. 

He got so selfish.... Too selfish.... 

If Duo loved him, which couldn't be possible, they were only fifteen. It was so easy to fall in and out of love.... 

What would he do if Duo fell for someone else?

Heero realized all his thoughts were foolish as he lay over on his back and closed his eyes, the feel of the sun once more on his body making him smile. 

It was so cold in there.... 

So barren.... 

He could just see it now.... 

He was going to settle down in a little village somewhere, maybe in a forest near a village. A small river close by.... Flowers.... He'd use his talent to make little metal and wood figurines and go into town every so often and sell them for money to buy food with when he wasn't hunting himself. Duo could--

No. 

He was keeping Duo *out* of this vision. 

He would--

"Heero," he heard the voice call and turned to look over at Duo, who stood before him, dripping wet. Water trailing down his body, sliding over it, in every delicate curve of his frame.... 

'NO!' his mind screamed at him as he looked away. 'Not while your NAKED!' 

"Do you think you could make a bit of string to bind my hair with?" 

"Sure. I'll think of something," Heero agreed, wondering why he had offered to come with Duo to wash and secretly knowing the reason which screamed 'NO KIDDING' at him like a flashing neon sign. 

He wanted to check the other out.

Heero stood and made to walk back, but suddenly Duo had wrapped his arms around his neck and was hugging him close in fear. 

"Duo...?" 

"I'm scared.... I don't know what it's like...to be free...anymore.... I'm scared of it...." he whispered, his voice shaking with shame. 

Heero pet his long wet hair. "It's okay to be afraid of what you don't know."

"Are you?" 

Heero was quiet for a long time before softly answering "no."

"Then how is it okay?" 

"Have you ever seen yourself, Duo?" Heero asked suddenly, trying for a quick change of subject.

Duo was taken aback by this and immediately replied "no." 

"Come then." Heero walked forward, leaving Duo left to follow in curiosity. 

Heero bent down before a pond and motioned for him to come down too. 

Duo sat down and looked over the edge, gasping and drawing back. 

"Wha...?" 

Heero sighed. "Don't you have any interest to what you look like?" 

Once more Duo popped his head back over the edge, but got a better look at himself. 

Large purple eyes, petite nose, long bangs that fell strikingly across his face, thin, slender shoulders, and a heart shaped face. 

Suddenly, he giggled and pointed to himself. 

"I *do* look like a girl!" 

Heero cracked a small smile and thought of many assorted sappy replies that, even if Duo was his...lover, he wouldn't say to him. 

"So does Quatre," was his reply. "There's nothing wrong with that."

"Yeah.... I bet when you look at my face, you can almost see a woman.... Then you remember I'm not.... And you lose all interest.... Right?" Duo asked, turning to him, his delicate eyes a little pained. 

But before he could get an answer, he slid into the cool depths of the pond, his mind overwhelmed. 

Heero was pinned with shock. What did he say now? What did he do?

He sat there and watched as Duo resurfaced. 

Duo stared at him, and he returned the gesture easily. 

Heero's mind raced for something to say, as did Duo's. 

Finally, Heero spoke. 

"The other's are probably getting worried." 

Duo nodded and swam to the edge, climbing out, and once more Heero had to turn away his head quickly. 

If Duo thought he had no interest, he was off the mark by a couple hundred thousand furlongs. 

They returned and Duo fell into the soft grass next to Quatre and turned his head to look at his friend. 

"Duo. Here." Quatre picked up a piece of ribbon from the ground and handed it to him. 

"Thank you," Duo replied, surprised. "Where did you get it?" 

I pulled it out of the belt in my pants before I made to wash them. Come here. I'm going to fix your hair." 

Quatre settled down and began to weave his hair together in one complicated braid. 

Heero watched as his eyes drifted shut. He was still tired.... So tired.... 

Before he slipped into sleep, he felt something press up against his back and turned over to see that it was Duo, hair completed, laying with his head to his back, arms under it, staring at the sky. 

"I've never seen so much blue before...." he murmured. 

"Get used to it, you'll be seeing it all the rest of your life." 

Duo smiled. "I don't want to get used to it. I want to wake up every morning and have it be something new to me."

Heero yawned behind a hand and replied: "that's going to be hard to accomplish." 

Duo shook his head. "That's nothing compared to what we did last night."

~Til Then~  



	20. Goodbye Yellow brick Road part 20

**Part Twenty**

After a few days they realized they couldn't stay in the forest forever. Food was an issue, along with sanitation and clothing. 

Duo, however, didn't really want to *see* people. He felt overwhelming guilt about killing all the innocents in the school and became unbelievably paranoid. He *knew* people would know his selfish deed and often times burst into tears for no apparent reason. One would say he became bi-polar. 

Quatre was also affected quite harshly by the passing events. Often at night he would think about what he did and rock back and forth, sobbing, sometimes vomiting from the memories. He, contradictorily to Duo, almost *needed* to see people once more. Promise them he'd never do such a thing again. 

Wufei was awed by the spectacle. Awed by the fact he had the ability to end someone's life. Was life that fragile? He had the power to take a person's soul away from them and for once in his life he felt strong. Powerful. He had something over everyone else for once and it made him feel mighty. He had no idea why Duo and Quatre found this notion morally incorrect. He had never learned. 

Trowa understood why it happened. The sight of the people he killed he would forever carry with him to his grave and it would always affect him emotionally, however he knew he had to keep strong for Quatre because he was suffering. 

Heero was totally cold to watching all those people die. Right now his biggest worry was that Quatre and Trowa would want to settle down right away. Or Duo would run away. Or Wufei would go mad and start killing people on a power high. They had to stay together still.... Unless they wanted to see more people die.... 

Yet he didn't think it was the right time to tell them just yet.... 

They had created little figures out of stone and wood with their Talents. This was hard for Duo because he didn't feel like making happy things. Nothing around him was happy. 

But he did it and they walked to the nearest town. 

First on their agenda was buying new clothes. The rags they had from the school were washed, but still rags. Second was a bed for the night. Third was real food. This they agreed on. 

Heero also wanted a sword for some means of defense without having to give away the fact he had a Talent. He also promised Duo he'd teach him how to use a bow, now that they had "all the time in the world". 

Duo seemed not to ever want to break up from the group, and seemed like he was clinging to the fact that they would always be together. Unable to admit to himself that they might ever want to go their separate ways. 

Maybe that was a good thing.... That way Heero's plans would be more concrete.... 

But that was a double-sided blade. What would Duo do when he found out Quatre and Trowa wanted to settle down?

That afternoon they wandered into the town. 

Duo, who was the least willing to go into the town, was the most enthralled by it. Every few minutes he'd stop to gawk and every few minutes Heero would grab his braid and drag him along. 

There were people everywhere, milling around, talking, passing.... People in rags, people in riches.... There was color everywhere. Every second another thing was happening and Duo wanted to concentrate on it all. Take it all in. Keep it with him forever. This was something special, something new. This he wanted.

"Heero!" he cried, eyes sparkling. "It's just like you imagined! It's all like you said!" 

Heero smiled as they sat down on the porch of an inn and took out the figures they had made. 

"Would I lie to you?" he murmured back.

Duo couldn't answer that question. 

They sold all of the little figures quite quickly, mostly to children, until they got two handfuls of pennies. 

Heero smirked up at his friends. 

"Watch this." 

Before their eyes the pennies turned into gold pieces. 

"How did you...?" Quatre whispered. 

"Simple. I changed the metallic composition of the coins," Heero replied as if it were nothing. "Come now. We'll get us some horses and some clothes that look somewhat presentable. Not royalty by any means, but clothes that will gain us respect." 

Everyone but Quatre stared at him stupidly. 

"What do you mean?" Duo asked, scratching his head. 

Heero sighed, but Quatre spoke for him. 

"In the world, the kind of clothes you wear and your manners are based on the amount of money you own which is based on how much respect you are given. You just have to trust us on this one." 

Heero nodded, pulling his tunic over his head and handing it to Duo. 

"Take this. Wear it. I say that people will become suspicious of five men of decent clothing traveling together. I think that Quatre and you should dress as women to deceive them. You must cover your chest if you want to pull this off." 

Duo's jaw practically hit the floor. "What?" 

"Duo, we have to pass as women in this town. Don't think too much of it, we will get by easier than the men will," Quatre tried to speak rationally. 

"I...I.... I don't know what to say. I don't want to do this," Duo replied stubbornly. 

"Do you want to be thrown in prison on account of susceptibility? What good will that do? We'll be right back where we were before," Quatre explained gently, resting a hand on his arm. 

Duo sighed. "Fine then." He pulled the tunic over his head and tried not to smile too wide. 

It was warm and it smelled of Heero. He loved the way Heero smelled. It made him feel safe, protected. 

But he didn't have long to dwell on that. 

They left the gold in Heero's possession and went off to find some horses. 

They purchased two from a man for one gold piece. He was so exhilarated that Heero knew they were being ripped off and that he was going to make a great profit, but they were good horses so he wasn't complaining. 

With that they walked back into town, Wufei and Heero both leading the horses. 

"Besides Duo, if you pretend you're a woman, you can pretend you're married to Heero and say it's part of the act," Quatre whispered as they followed behind the three 'men'. 

Duo smacked his friend in the back of the head. "I would never do such a thing." 

Quatre rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I'm not foolish, Duo, nor am I blind. You must stop denying it and tell him." 

"And you must stop kidding with me." 

"Fine then...but I bet anything he likes you." 

"I said you stop being foolish!" Duo cried. "He could never like me for he has spent the past four moons taking care of me. I am a burden, not a loved one. He knows too much about me to love me.... Besides, one does not love a burden." 

Quatre's eyes widened as he stared at the other. "Aren't loved one's supposed to know everything about you?" 

"Not me...." Duo replied softly. 

But before Quatre could get another word out, they were at the clothing shop and tying up the horses, marked by a wooden sign with a needle and thread on it, for illiterate people. Heero explained as they walked in that some royalty was illiterate and most women so it would do Quatre and Duo best if they pretended they couldn't read. 

Once more Duo was ruffled by such an absurd suggestion, but the idea of pretending to be Heero's wife and having it be part of the game hooked him and now.... 

Now he would go along with just about anything. 

Heero once more had all the ideas and picked out all their clothing. Though it was hard to get good clothing without preordering it and having it fit to perfection, Heero was not at all disappointed with the clothing they got, even if they had to spend twelve gold pieces on it. 

As they watched the men saddle up the horses with their newly acquired clothing, Heero gave them in the details. 

"Okay, we are simply traveling lords and ladies, got that? If you must tell a country, say that you are from Kuna. Say the capital, L'Kunie. That country is close to here and the style of the clothing isn't much different," Heero spoke. 

"You know your cultures," Duo muttered. 

"And you're the one that saw my past," Heero replied and Duo winced. 

Heero was right. He did pass through many countries to get there and so he knew many different cultures. Not to mention he was also an Incarnate. After that realization, Duo felt pretty stupid.

"You 'girls' might want name changes." 

"I need one," Quatre whispered and they turned to him. The urgency in his voice struck them. "Do none of you know my full name?" 

Duo gasped as it hit him. 

The others shook their heads. 

"I'm Quatre Raberba Winner.... Rightful heir to the Yuotain throne."

"Oh dear Divine...." Duo whispered, knowing it was coming and dying as he heard it on Quatre's lips. 

"Fuck...." was Heero's response. Quickly he picked himself back up. "This will be simple. You will be Quatranine Barton, Trowa's wife. If you can't remember his long female name, call him Kat, for short." 

Quatre said the name softly to himself a few times, before turning and smiling at Trowa, who seemed in some sort of shock. 

"Trowa?" he whispered, touching his hand gently. 

Trowa blinked and looked at Quatre as if he'd never seen him before.

"I can't believe.... I don't.... I--"

Quatre sighed, but then seemed upset, his lips tightening and brows furrowing in upset. 

"Don't let things change between us. I love you. I always will. Just because I'm royalty doesn't mean--"

"No, Quatre, you aren't just royalty, you are a prince," Trowa restated, looking at the ground as he spoke the words. "I should not even be in your presence. I am the offspring of a whore. A complete mistake. You are royalty. There is no place for me in your life. Change your name to Quatranine Chang. It should fit you better." 

Quatre glared at the floor as his eyes filled up with tears and he realized that everyone was watching them argue.

"There is no time for this argument right now. I am Quatranine Barton whether you love me or not," Quatre replied, chewing his lower lip. 

"Duo, you shall be Duet. Whatever defining name you can think up is fine," Heero decided easily, before unhooking the packages from the horses and handing some to Wufei, some to Trowa, and carrying the rest himself. 

Duo fell back with Quatre, who looked about ready to burst into tears, and rested a hand on his shoulder. 

"It will take Trowa some time to get used to, but he loves you, and eventually he'll see that none of that matters, as long as you don't decide to announce yourself as the rightful heir. And why would you do such a thing? You cannot provide offspring anyway, why humiliate yourself?"

"I hope you're right Duo," Quatre whispered back. "I need him...." 

Duo gave his friend a quick hug, but before they knew it, they were being led through a door, down a hall, and into a room Heero must've paid for. 

Actually, it was two connected rooms with a bathroom in-between. 

It was first rate. It had a water heating fire underneath the brass tub and a water pump inside the actual room. 

First thing was first. They all stripped themselves of their rags and began to set up for bathing. 

The tub was quite large. Big enough to fit three of them with space to move. And so they decided Quatre, Duo, and Heero should bathe first. Women's clothing took much longer to put on and Heero was the only one who really knew how to do it. 

There were many different perfumed soaps on a shelf in the wall and such little things awed Duo. Quatre explained the different purposes, happy to be somewhat back in his element. 

Heero washed quickly and exited quickly because he needed to talk to Trowa. Even though Quatre smiled, the pain in his eyes was unspeakably obvious every time he glanced at the other. 

Quatre helped Duo to wash his hair as Heero dressed quickly then stalked through the bathroom and into the room in which Trowa and Wufei sat talking. 

Both felt they needed to bow in Heero's presence. He wore the robes as if he were a king and the glare on his face felt as if it threatened their lives. 

"Trowa," he spoke, his voice having a heightened tone of command. "We must talk." 

Trowa stood before the other and realized a few things at once. 

Heero was not fifteen. Not mentally, at least. He was much older and that was obvious. 

Heero had silently declared himself their 'leader'. This did not surprise Trowa, it only seemed natural. 

Heero was driven by something he figured none of them knew about. Possibly not even Duo, who he seemed closest to. Heero didn't care about them as much as it looked like he did. There was a deeper motivation. 

"What?" Trowa asked. 

"Do you not care about Quatre?" 

Trowa's emerald eyes immediately lit into flame. 

"This isn't your business!" 

"Like the Gates of Hell it's not!" Heero retorted. "Don't you think he's going to be affected by this? Don't you think he's going to be looking for comfort? Sure, caste matters, but he can't claim the throne!" 

"And why not?" Trowa replied, growling. "Contrary to your beliefs, you don't control our actions." 

"Because he loves you!" Heero replied angrily. "Are you stupid? What good would it do if he claimed the throne, unable to produce an heir?" 

Trowa was silent. He did have a point. 

"That's what concubines are--"

"What, Trowa? Do you *not* love Quatre, or is he too good to be true and so you have to take him away from yourself?" Heero sneered and turned his eyes away from the other boy. "You offend me. Grow up, baby." 

Then Heero turned and stormed into the other room. 

Duo and Quatre were drying themselves off when he entered, not hearing word one of the previous argument between the other two. 

Duo turned and tried not to melt. 

"Y-you look nice, Heero," Duo stuttered. 

Heero's face softened to a very small smile at the compliment. 

"Come on. I'll get you two dressed." 

Dressing was quite an ordeal. Corsets and multiple layers of skirts and ruffles.... Duo found it all quite itchy and stuffy and restricting. Not to mention his lame arm certainly didn't help matters. Quatre, though, was thrilled. He always wanted to see the world from a women's view. Walk as his mother did. 

Heero stood back and examined his work. He grabbed another bag from the ones that contained the clothing and opened it up. Pulling out several little bottles and brushes, he approached Quatre. He looked over the little labels before popping off the top and sticking a little brush inside, pulling it back out. Duo was in awe to have found that it was covered with a red substance nothing like blood. 

"What is it?" Duo asked softly, dragging all his skirts over to get a closer look. 

"All women wear it," was Heero's explanation as he began brushing it on Quatre's lips. 

Duo watched in fascination as he opened up another little bottle and dipped a different brush inside, covered this time with a light blue that Heero stroked over Quatre's eyelids. Then he opened a little box and took yet another brush and dipped it in some powder, brushing that on Quatre's cheeks. 

Standing back he once more gazed over his work. 

"It shall have to do for now. Your turn, Duo." 

"Me?" Duo asked in surprise, backing up a little. "I don't know...." 

"Oh, come on! It doesn't hurt," Quatre urged, smiling.

Duo sighed and gave in and let Heero brush the different powders onto his face. It was highly uncomfortable and itchy, just like everything else he was wearing, but knew that he'd just have to get over it. 

"I must try to get some real jewelry for the both of you. This was the only piece that struck me in the shop," Heero announced, pulling out a tight silver chain bedecked with purple gems. 

Duo gasped when he realized that it would become his. 

Heero handed him a mirror and put it in his hand, holding it up. 

"What do you think?" Heero whispered in his ear as he clasped it on from behind. 

Duo shifted the mirror in his hand, getting a good look at himself. 

He looked so pretty.... He looked like a woman.... Such a beautiful...woman....

"Heero...." 

"Hmm?" 

Duo turned and faced him, anger in his eyes. 

"Why did you do this to me?

"What do you mean?" 

"Do you want to see me as a woman because that is what you want? Do you dress me up this way because that is what you want me to be?" Duo asked, his voice containing a note of definite pain. 

"Duo...." Quatre whispered, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"That was not at all my intention!" Heero replied, surprised. "I never thought that you would react this way."

"You just want me to be your predetermined puppet. Why else would you have made me so beautiful?"

"Beauty is something that cannot be hidden. Even without the make-up, you are beautiful," Heero spoke softly, lifting one of his gloved hands. 

Duo yanked his hand back, holding it to his chest. "No. That's not true! You want me to believe your lies! You want me to be something I'm not. You want me to be a woman...." 

Heero clasped his upper shoulders in his hands and leaned down, brushing a kiss across his forehead. 

"Do you really believe that?" 

Duo gasped. 

Heero gave him one last glance before walking into the other room. 

Nothing done was ever easy....

Nothing done was ever right.

~Til Then~  



	21. Goodbye Yellow brick Road part 21

**Part Twenty-One**

Wufei was in talking with Heero. Duo sat on the bed in his dresses, feeling a little rejected. 

Quatre had walked into the other room to talk to Trowa. 

When Trowa caught sight of his abandoned lover, his breath caught in his throat. 

When Quatre saw his unwilling lover, his heart beat faster. 

"You're so handsome...." Quatre sighed, walking over to him and lifting a hand to brush across Trowa's face. "I don't care if you aren't royalty, you wear it well."

"I suppose I should take that as a compliment. Seeing as you would know...." 

Quatre turned away from Trowa and hugged himself. 

"Trowa...." 

"Why didn't you tell me?" 

"Why do you think I didn't tell you? Did it seem all that important? I could've been the Great Divine Himself and I would've been reduced to the role of a nothing in that Academy. I didn't find it all that important. And is it? Is caste more important than love, Trowa?" Quatre asked, his voice begging, his eyes tugging at Trowa's heart so that he had to look away. 

"It just isn't right...."

"We have a change to start over again! Be whatever we want to be. For all I care, we could be simple farmers, as long as I could be with you. Is there something about 'I love you' that you don't understand?"

Trowa rubbed his temples and closed his eyes. 

"Yes. I don't understand the 'love' part. How can you dare consider loving me?" 

"I don't know, Trowa! Perhaps because you're everything I'm missing!" Quatre cried, trying not to let his tears fall and ruin all Heero's hard work. "You complete me! You're everything I never had and I love that! I love the fact that you can teach me what I don't know! That you compliment me! I just love being with you.... Call me a hopeless romantic, but you are everything I need.... How else do you think I made it through...?" he whispered, almost at the point of inaudibility.

They stood so close.... Quatre's head only a few centimeters from Trowa's chest, Trowa's lips only a few inches from Quatre's forehead.... 

Yet they were not touching. 

So in love and so afraid because of everything they'd been told. 

So afraid they couldn't touch one another. 

"I...I can't...." Trowa whispered as his arms unwillingly pressed Quatre to his chest. 

Quatre smiled, happy tears sparkling in his eyes as he slid his arms around Trowa's waist, snuggling up against his chest. 

"I shall be Quatre Barton...." he murmured. 

"I can't help it.... I love you...." Trowa cried, every word he spoke he knew was wrong, every kiss his planted among Quatre's golden hair was wrong.... But he couldn't help it. 

"In my country, we say 'tamustyujii'...." Quatre replied softly. "It doesn't mean 'I love you'. It means more. It means something to the affect of...'I dedicate to you my soul'.... 

"Tamustyujii, Trowa...tamustyujii koyu. Maltuyujii...."[1]

~~~

They had wandered into the bar and were certainly a sight. Lots of men looked up from their assorted card and dice games to stare at the two women that entered and size up the three men. The few servant girls whispered to one another. Either about the three men or because women of such stature were out of their rooms. It was an uncommon sight, but they wanted to be with one another, and Duo might have lost almost all his pride, but he was still a man and he would walk into a bar and not be turned away.

First off they ordered food.

"Real food, real food!" Duo bubbled excitedly. "I can't wait! I love food!" 

Quatre giggled at his friend, resting a gloved hand on Trowa's arm protectively.

They ordered duck and potatoes and soups and rolls, all most expensive things around. 

Duo was just in heaven. 

"Aye! I could eat such things forever! Let's be rich forever," he hissed, eyes sparkling with delight. 

Heero smiled. "That was the general idea for now. Eventually we'll need to buy a carriage and everything.... And I need to get a sword." 

"Just start gambling and win. Someone is sure to give up something of value if they're enough in debt. Why not a sword?" Wufei suggested. 

Heero stood. "I think I will." 

Duo grabbed at his sleeve before he left.

"Are you mad at me?" 

Heero lifted his hand and kissed it. 

"Of course not." 

Duo blushed a little and watched him shift into the crowd. 

Trowa and Wufei also disappeared and Quatre and Duo were left to sit in the corner and talk to each other. 

"This is so stupid," Duo muttered, circling his finger on the table. "Being a woman is stupid. We don't get to do anything." 

"No, Duo, you have it all wrong. Women are beautiful and strong."

"And they have to sit in the corner and watch the men have fun," Duo pouted.

Heero was doing quite well at the gambling table. The other men were a little suspicious because of his age, but he was winning grandly. 

All the men were thoroughly annoyed because they were being beaten so badly by a young man and just as Wufei had predicted, stared giving up other valuable items. 

But Heero was good at cards and this he knew. He knew he would win until the other men quit and they would not quit for fear of their pride.

Trowa and Wufei sat down at the bar. 

Both pondered over buying beers. 

"Do you know what they taste like?" Wufei asked quietly. 

"No," Trowa replied. "Maybe we should see?" 

"Why not?" 

Both sat there and stared at each other.

"Well.... All men do it," Trowa stated. "Let's." 

Once more they stared at each other. 

Quatre managed to get Duo to laugh a little and forget his predicament when a tall, dark man of about twenty-five walked over to them and leaned against their table.

"Why hello, beautiful women. Is this seat taken?" he asked, gesturing to an empty seat at the table. 

"No," Quatre replied softly. 

He pulled it closer to Duo and then sat down. 

"And what's your name, fair maiden?" 

Duo immediately tensed up, but at the same time was highly flattered. This man thought he was beautiful and asked for his name! This man *noticed* him! Actually *noticed* him! He wasn't just another figure in the crowd, he was an actual, perceptible *person*. 

"D-Duet," Duo stuttered as thoughts flashed through his mind. 

"Ah, such a fitting name for one so beautiful. Tell me, do you have anyone to make your name complete?" 

Well, that struck Duo. Should he say yes? Or should he continue to converse with this man? He was kind of scared, true, because he didn't really know what to say. In the Academy it was rare that anyone other than the few friends you could manage to accumulate would ever look at you twice and so he didn't really know how to converse very well with anyone spur of the moment. Even in the Academy you all had something in common. You were all in the Academy and you could talk about that. 

But out in this new world.... 

No one knew anything about anyone else and conversation wasn't that easy to make. 

"No," Duo returned boldly, trying to act more comfortable as he laid his arm on the table. 

Quatre was a little surprised by this, thinking that Duo would say he was married to Heero, but was secretly glad that Duo was getting more attention than him from this strange man. He got a bad feeling about the man and besides, he had Trowa.

"Is that so?" The man leaned in closer to Duo, resting a hand on his arm, holding it firmly as Duo suddenly jerked back to the physical contact. 

Then the man leaned his face in closer and Duo could smell the whisky on his breath and tried not to run as he was reminded of the slave traders that had taken him in so long ago.... 

_"Smelly little shit bag!" the ringleader cursed at him and struck his back with the horsewhip. _

_Duo cried out, falling. He had finally broken just a few days ago and was certainly feeling the affects._

_The ringleader laughed and yanked him up by his chin, his ugly face so deadly close. His eyes were covered with the film of drunkenness and his entire body reeked of alcohol._

_"If you weren't so pretty and so virgin, I'd kill ya."_

_Duo didn't doubt his words as he tried not to vomit. _

_The smell was so intoxicatingly thick. So strong it made him dizzy. He hoped to one-day get away. Get away and live in peace. Maybe hide from the world.... _

_But most of all, he hoped he'd never have to smell that smell again._

He brushed his nose up against Duo's cheek and Duo was revolted by the touch.

Suddenly that which seemed so amazing and wonderful, turned hideously awry. 

"Excuse me," a voice spoke loudly and Duo thought he'd never be happier than he was right then. 

"Can I have this dance?" Heero asked, extending his hand to Duo as a song started up. 

Duo smiled wide, jerking his arm away from the man and sliding it into Heero's hand, standing and almost falling into Heero's arms. 

The man looked highly disappointed and glared at Heero something vicious. 

Trowa, watching this, saw what was going on and went to Quatre's side before this man could harass Quatre.

Then Heero spun Duo into the jig, being mindful of his lame arm and trying not to embarrass him or his dancing skills, which were limited. 

"Thank you," Duo whispered.

Heero shrugged. "No problem." 

"I didn't think.... I was much to caught up in my own excitement to notice...." 

"Most men will try that. I guess it's the main hindrance of being a woman."

"Where'd you learn to dance so well?" Duo asked, changing the subject easily. 

"I did have a girlfriend.... Often we went to bars to dance." 

"Ah," Duo replied, feeling he hadn't picked such a good topic and deciding to try again. "So, did you get your sword?"

Then Heero smiled. 

"A-hah! You should've seen! We were playing Kings, a typical card game in taverns, also one that takes much skill. All the men there thought I was insane and that I would be an easy win. I beat them so bad, Duo-et!" Heero corrected himself. Even in the slip, his excitement wasn't lost. "They didn't want to give up, even after they had lost all their money, because they were offend they lost when I was so young! It was great! I got *two* swords, made on special order, a dagger, and a beautiful piece of jewelry I gave back to the man who I won it from in secret. It was for his mistress and he'd just bought it and it took him a while to save up." 

"Aw! That was nice of you." 

Heero blushed a little, before continuing. "Not to mention I also won a lot of money to change to gold. I promise you I--"

He halted abruptly and hesitated in the rhythm of the dance.

"Heero?" Duo asked, confused. 

"Sorry.... I lost my train of thought," he replied, picking up again and trying not to give any hints at his emotions for the other boy because they just wouldn't do. Not right now. 

"Well, go on then." 

"What was I saying? Oh yes. We'll get a carriage and some really nice clothes and I'll teach you the bow, hmm?" 

"Sounds fabulous...." Duo whispered, staring up into Heero's dark, mysterious eyes and a shiver ran up his spine. 

~~~

The man cloaked in black gazed through the window unnoticed. Like a shadow in the night. 

His snake eyes blinked quickly and his forked tongue shot out, tasting the air and smiling to himself. 

"And these are the Sha-Zraj-Ni?" he hissed contently. "Soft meat.... This is all too easy, My Lord.... Much, much too easy...."

~Til Then~

[1] _I dedicate to you my soul, Trowa...forever I dedicate to you my soul. Keep it safe.   
_


	22. Goodbye Yellow brick Road part 22

**Part Twenty-Two**

Duo had slept across the room from Heero, in the other bed that night, and never did he feel more alone. He knew that Quatre and Trowa were snuggling together in one bed in the other room and that just doused an extra bucket of cold water onto his disposition. 

But that morning they were prepared for travel, which was the other outfit that they bought. Heero promised that once they got out of town, they would buy more clothing in the next one. Maybe even stay for an extended period of time in a city just to buy accommodations and get used to being around people once again. However, Heero explained that they could never be in one place for too long without it seeming highly odd. Two weeks would be the maximum. 

Heero sheathed his sword after dancing around the room, practicing formations as Duo watched in awe. His body flowed so naturally with the sword.... As if it were more of a dance partner than a weapon. Or a lute singing a swift melody and beat. 

He clapped lightly against his thigh as Heero walked around, gathering things up to put on the horses. 

"Don't. I'm rusty. That was nothing to clap about," Heero told him.

"I think it was. You don't have to believe that, but I think so." 

Heero looked up at Duo, dressed in a woman's riding clothes. He couldn't avoid the fact that Duo looked nice with the skirts and his hair brushed and braided. 

So he just didn't look at Duo and turned his eyes back to the task at hand. 

"We're ready!" Quatre called, walking in and standing beside Duo. "How do you like your swords?" 

"The fancier one is mostly just a show sword, but the other was meant for fighting. I feel almost as though it was designed for my hand, even though I know it's not. Strange.... I haven't practiced in a while. I need some more time."

"I thought he did just fine," Duo added afterward. 

Suddenly Heero walked out of the room and into the other, most likely to converse with the other 'males'. 

Duo sighed and rested a hand on his hip. "I'm really getting sick of this woman thing...." he muttered. "Makes him think he has the right to just blow us off...."

"No," Quatre replied with a light smile, "I think he's uncomfortable with the compliment." 

Heero had strode up to Trowa and took him aside as Wufei, once more feeling neglected, was left to busy himself with his thoughts. 

"Here." Heero handed him the emerald dagger he had won last night. 

Trowa took it and slid it into his belt, then looked at Heero with questioning eyes. 

"I know that you are not experienced with the sword, so I give you that. Use it to protect yourself and Quatre, if worst comes to worst," Heero whispered and Trowa's eyes shone with understanding. 

"Thank you." 

Heero nodded, then turned away, but Trowa called him back. 

"Heero," he murmured. "Maybe I haven't been as appreciative as I should be. You are the only one who knows much of anything, but.... I suppose I don't like to not know the path that's before me...." 

Heero nodded once more. "It's fine, yet you must get used to it. Not even I always know the direction in which I turn." 

Trowa acknowledged that with his own small nod. 

"One last thing...." he spoke, using an extra soft tone in his voice. "How are you to teach Duo the bow, as you promise him, when he has a lame arm?" 

Heero smirked. "I'm not quite sure just yet, Trowa, but I have ideas. Right now he's just trying to hold on to a little dream. Let him. It's not hurting anyone."

"Okay. I was just...."

"Wondering. I know. It's fine." 

With that, Heero announced that they would leave and walked into his room to grab some bags. 

They saddled up the horses and, Duo and Quatre ridding, set off into the horizon as the sun began to rise, coloring the sky in splendid shades of pink and blue.

After a short while of walking, finally out of the outskirts of the town, Quatre spotted a figure on the road ahead. 

Heero tried not to visible tense up, but he rested a hand on the hilt of his sword in what seemed a nonchalant fashion as they continued on. Everyone felt that Heero and unofficially taken all speaking rights when they came upon this figure, if need be. 

The closer Heero got to the brown robbed and hooded figure, the more nervous he became. 

He knew who this was....

Dammit! They weren't prepared yet!

"Just keep moving," Heero whispered to the others as they approached the person. 

And they walked right past without a word.

Then came a rough voice with a distinct 'hiss'. 

"So you ignore me? Are you really so ignorant?" 

Heero spun around, drawing on all his Art, grabbing firmly at the hilt of his sword. 

"No," he spoke quietly. "Just hopeful." 

From under the cloak the decided man snickered. 

"Get off the horses," Heero growled softly.

"What the fuck is going on?" Duo snapped back as he climbed down, becoming more scared at Heero's tone and drawing on his own Art, feeling the air and readying himself. 

"His name I don't know, but he is the Keeper of the First Gate of Death." 

The man chuckled. "I'm honored that you know my ran, but be warned, you will not survive to tell my name. However, I think I will tell you so when you lie dying you will play my name over and over in your head and know that I defeated you.

"I am known as Treize." 

Quatre gasped and took a step back. 

He knew his country's history.

Treize ruled Yuotain a hundred thousand years ago. He led a great army and conquered much land, making the country everything it was today. 

But he died a hundred thousand years ago, too. Bitten by a snake. A very unhonorable death for someone so grand.

But he was still dead.

Heero quickly evaluated the situation. They couldn't use their Arts because if they left too much destruction then people would get scared and they couldn't have *that*. 

And so he drew his sword.

"Show yourself! I want to see the face of the man I kill!" Heero demanded, the others still in disarray. 

Trowa pushed Quatre back, standing in front of him and planning to stay that way. Duo stumbled over and grabbed Quatre's sleeve. 

"Heero...." he whispered, biting his lower lip and wanting to run to him, take hold of his shoulders and shake him. Demand the answers to all the questions that ran so rapidly through his dizzied head--!

Wufei totally lost and trying to make sense of the passing events, sparked his hands into flame. He felt confused. He didn't like to feel confused. It made him scared. He didn't like to be scared. 

So he would fight that which made him scared and show that force that he was stronger and that he wouldn't be scared anymore! 

With one swift motion, the figure threw off his clock, drawing his sword. 

And even Heero was disgruntled. 

The man was tall, thin, handsome.... Until you got to his face. 

The flesh on his neck turned slowly to thick, plated scales and shaped into that of a snake's. His eyes blinked rapidly and vertically, a bright gold that reflected the sun and dazzled almost blindingly. His thin black tongue shot in and out of his mouth at spaced intervals, testing the air for danger. 

Yet from that long horizontal mouth came a voice near human, as it spoke once more.

"I see you are surprised? Then you do not know everything that you think you do, eh Shukan?" 

Heero tried not to flinch as the others became yet more confused. 

He stood his ground and slid his legs a little farther apart, holding the sword firm in front of him. 

"I challenge you to a duel!" 

"So old fashioned, so splendid. Once more you seem wiser than I give you credit, for you do not want to use your art and disturb people if this land looks as if the Lord has raged upon it, however I am not afraid." 

Then, with a scream of rage, Heero charged at the other, and was blocked easily. Treize threw a blow at Heero, which Heero countered and spun around, trying to catch Treize from behind. Treize had already turned in the opposite direction and formulated a counter stroke, which Heero blocked, almost falling off balance, but catching himself and backing up, giving Treize almost full view of his body, but managing to block another thrust.

Waltzing around each other in a complicated weaving, they clashed as Heero's face came right upon the snake's. 

It smirked and let its tongue flicker out, darting at the sweat on his face. 

Heero sneered in disgust and drew back, skipping briskly backward as their swords smacked against one another, ringing through the road with a sharp metallic clang.

Then Heero turned the tides and was the one leading as Treize retreated backward. 

Duo watched this all through amazed eyes and wished that he could do something...anything. 

No one knew what to do but watch them fight. It was obvious Heero was straining and he began to pant as Treize brought his sword to the side and slashed his shoulder. 

Heero felt the blood begin to trickle down his arm and soak into his shirt, his salty sweat sliding into the open wound, providing a stinging sensation. 

Then his eyes ignited with a new passion. 

This man had wronged him! He had gotten the first hit!

This would be avenged!

Had he not been such a stubborn, hotheaded teenager who didn't know that he was up against impossible odds, he might have given up right there. Yet sometimes the best things can come from the most ignorance.

Heero fought back more passionately. Forgetting his forms and making up his own. Confusing Treize and making him reevaluate his enemy. 

Meanwhile Duo began to think. 

They didn't want to use their Arts because it would destroy the land. 

Fire would burn, Water would flood, Earth would reconstruct, Wind would knock down, but what would Spirit do?

"Quatre!" Duo hissed. "Quatre!" 

Quatre's head jerked to Duo, his teary eyes exposed. 

"What?" 

"Mess with his mind! Use your Art to make him see double or something! Heero cannot win against these odds unless we help him out a little! He hasn't gotten one cut in! Soon he'll be exhausted! Right now they're on the same level, but just barely! Let's do something!" Duo begged and Quatre saw the beauty of his plan and, looking for Trowa's nod of assurance, opened up the channel inside of him that allowed all the Art in. 

Letting his lids drop, he began to feel with the invisible eye inside of him and began to weave intense patterns and throwing them at the man's mind. 

Heero tried not to be shocked when Treize suddenly stopped and looked around.

He threw slashes at his arms before he regained thought and they once more began their jousting. 

Once more he seemed to become confused and Heero threw a good hit at his waist, tearing his soft flesh open as blood began to pour from the wound. 

There was a snake-like screech as he ran into Heero. Heero jerked up through his heart as he ran, pinning him like a butterfly upon his sword until his chest reached the hilt, soaking the both of them in an outpour of blood, his entrails slopping out of his waist and threw the huge hole in his clothing.

"Why?" Heero demanded. 

"The Lord will--" he stuttered before an overwhelming amount of crimson came from his mouth and added to that which already adorned Heero's outfit.

Then he died, his body falling heavily against Heero's before Heero fell to the ground....

Lost in the beautiful, deep, dark.... 

Unconscious....

~Til Then~  



	23. Goodbye Yellow brick Road part 23

Part Twenty-Three

Heero awoke gradually to the familiar sound of soft voices. 

His eyes opened slowly and turned his head away from the harsh sunlight, resting his cheek in the soft grass. 

Duo heard him moan softly and shot over, throwing his arms around his sore body and squeezing him tight. 

"You're okay, you're okay!" he cried joyously. 

Then he dropped him and put a hand on his hip. 

"Now what's going on, Heero Yuy?! I'm sick of not knowing anything! You better tell me--"

"Cut him a break," Wufei suddenly spoke. "He just woke up." 

Heero gave him a grateful look, which Wufei glared it away. 

Though he didn't like Heero and thought he was a bastard, Wufei was human. He wouldn't want to wake up to Duo's squeals. 

"Where are we?" Heero asked as he realized he was clad in nothing but a light pair of pants. 

"Contrary to your beliefs, we're not *stupid* and knew people would be upset to see you come in with all that blood on you. We got off the road and into the forest. Found a small stream and washed you up." 

"How long have we been here?" Heero spoke, trying to ignore the annoyed and spiteful tone of Wufei's voice. 

"Not long. A few hours." 

"Where's Quatre and Trowa?" 

"Searching for something edible, in case we have to stay here longer," Wufei growled. "They're not your charges. You don't have to pretend to worry about them. I think they'll be able to manage on their own, Heero Yuy."

Heero sighed. This wasn't what he needed right now. 

Suddenly Duo fell down next to him and snuggled against his body.

"I was worried," he whispered. "Maybe Wufei could live without you, but I don't know what I would do." 

Heero stroked Duo's soft hair and realized how truly adorable he was. He basked in Duo's glory as Wufei glared. 

How come he didn't get mad and shoot some wise crack back at him???

Then Quatre and Trowa reappeared, carrying a bag.

"You're awake," Trowa observed. 

Quatre say down near Duo and Trowa followed suite, setting down between them the enormous amount of berries they had gathered. 

"What happened out there? That man was so strange.... It was like trying to weave through water when I attacked him," Quatre spoke quietly. 

He tried to sit up, but was still very sore. Duo saw this and helped him out. 

"I...I was hoping I'd have time to tell you all of this. I wasn't expecting it so soon...." 

Duo watched Heero intently. 

Maybe he would shed some light on the shade of his mind.

"You know I am an Incarnate, however you don't know that in one of my past lives I was Shukan." 

There was a loud gasp from everyone--including Wufei.

"That's why that...thing...called you that!" Quatre exclaimed excitedly. 

Heero nodded. "I suppose that is who he sees me as. The way I saw that he was Treize as we dueled. Not snaked headed, but young. Brown hair and crystal blue eyes. I think his appearance has to do with his death." 

Quatre nodded. "You're right. He died because he was bitten by a snake. He was once the ruler of Yuotain. I know my history...."

Heero nodded. "I guess I was right.... I think that each of us was once someone greater.... However, I'm not sure. I'm not going to pretend I have *all* the answers." He shot a glance at Wufei, who glared steadily back. "If this is true, then it's someone who was of your Art. Shukan was, after all, an Earth Artist, though he was in touch with the spiritual world. Which might have had something to do with his lover, but I've never seen anything of that from the past...." 

Heero gave them a moment to digest what he had just said. 

"Shukan once wrote a book of prophecy. He knew it would be destroyed in fire, but he had to try anyway. Needlessly said, it was burnt. 

"The prophecy said that five, the Sha-Zraj-Ni, roughly translated from H'sung meaning 'The Five Bodies Chosen for Rebirth', would rise to meet the Zher'Nak. A rough translation being, 'The Keeper's of the Gates of Hell'." 

Duo had drawn his knees to his chest, hugged them and began to rock slowly back and forth.

"Basically the prophecies were predicting the rise of the Zher'Nak, the battles between them and the Sha-Zraj-Ni, and the end of, well...life." 

Trowa held Quatre against his chest. Wufei sat numb to the previous discussion.

Duo kept rocking....

Back...forth.... Back....

"I won't cry," he whispered. "I'm not scared.... I can handle this.... I won't cry...."

"He lies." 

Everyone turned to look at Wufei in disbelief. 

Wufei stood. 

"He could never have defeated one of the Zher'Nak." 

Then Wufei walked away. 

~~~

Wufei did eventually return after their 'dinner' of berries that Quatre and Trowa had discovered. 

Duo was a little disappointed they weren't going to be eating real food or sleeping in real beds, but he didn't say a word about it. It was selfish and there were more important things to worry about. 

No one talked to Wufei. Frankly, they all feared him a little. He was strange and distant. The whole experience had affected him dramatically. His entire belief system came crashing down and it had affected him hardest. He need some balance, more than the others, and to know he wasn't even who he thought he was.... It crushed him. 

"Heero?" Duo whispered in the quickly fading light, stumbling to find him. 

"Yes?" Heero asked, looking over.

Duo sat down next to where he lay and looked down on him. 

"I'm confused.... Will they all be that easy?" 

Heero shook his head. "I don't think so. They probably increase strength with number." 

Duo pondered this thoughtfully. "Oh, then I suppose that won't be so bad," he spoke with a light smile. "We'll get stronger too." 

Heero smiled back at him as he rested down against his side. 

He stared up at the thousands of stars in front of him. So beautiful....

It wasn't fair. 

Here he was just beginning to live, and now the phrophecy which fortold the end of life came into play. 

How many more days would he have to stare up at the beauty of the stars? 

"Heero...." he whispered suddenly. He was running out of time for living....

"Yes?" he replied just as softly. 

"Have you wondered what it was like to be kissed?" 

Heero paused. "I've kissed several times." 

"Ah...." Duo answered. "That's right.... You had a girlfriend...." 

"You've never been kissed?" Heero asked, sitting up and staring down at Duo, so beautiful.... The moonbeams danced across his delicate features, catching in his eyes and reflecting from the pale purple orbs and into his soul.

Duo shook his head slowly. "Of course not. Well, no. I've been kissed when They raped me, but that.... That couldn't have been what kissing is...."

Heero shook his head. "No." 

They were both very quiet.

"If you want I...." Heero started, fading off. 

"I wouldn't get any ideas...." Duo returned gently. "It wouldn't be a love thing...."

Heero lightly stroked his cheek, brushing back a few whisps of honeybrown hair. 

Then he slowly lowered his head and let his lips touch Duo's hesitantly. He opened his mouth a little more and let his lips suck tenderly on the soft, sweet taste of Duo....

Then he realized how much he was enjoying the simple kiss. He backed off, blushing heavily and turning his head away. 

When Duo didn't say anything, he turned back to look at the other boy. 

His eyes were closed, a light blush across his face, his soft lips still parted a little. He looked so enthralled.... He looked so beautiful. 

Slowly his eyes opened and he looked over at Heero through half closed lids. 

"Thank you...." he whispered. "I wanted to experience it before I died...."

Heero looked at him questioningly.

"How many of those stars do you think are in the sky?" he murmured. 

"More than someone can count in a billion lifetimes," Heero replied as he lay down next to him once again. 

Duo let his head fall against Heero's shoulder as he stared into the sky. 

"How much longer do you think we have to stare into the sky and wonder how many stars there are?" 

Heero paused. "As long as we want...." he answered. "Forever...." 

"Let's count the stars.... I don't want to fall asleep...." 

Heero nodded and stroke Duo's bangs rythmically as he began to count. 

"One.... Two...." 

~Til Then~  



	24. Goodbye Yellow brick Road part 24

**Part Twenty-Four**

Heero, Duo, and Trowa wandered around a city in the outskirts of Autria. They made it there last night, found a nice tavern, and decided to settle down for a week or two before going to the capital, RiaMra. Why go to the capital? To find a place to settle down for a month or so and, well, wait for any activity from the Zher'Nak.

So Heero, Duo, and Trowa were on a mission. Searching for clothing and a fine carriage. 

Why them and where Quatre and Wufei?

Quatre and Wufei were staying at the Tavern, just trying to generally pick up any information about the world that they could. Even Heero had been trapped behind the walls for several moons, all that he knew could be obsolete. 

Heero, Duo, and Trowa were also chosen for a reason, and not just to separate Heero and Wufei from any potential fighting. Trowa really wanted to stay with Quatre, and Quatre really wanted to go with Trowa, but they decided the pairs for a reason. Heero and Wufei were about the same size, as were Duo and Quatre. However Trowa was a few inches taller than all of them. They wanted to be sure they got the right, or at least very close to right sizes in clothing.

Finally they found a shop that didn't look like it would be too expensive and sold clothing immediately, cash down. 

They were cloaked as simple travels, Heero borrowing Wufei's shirt since his was ruined. When the seamster saw them enter he didn't think much of them. They were young travelers, they didn't have much money. He would ignore them. 

But Heero demanded his attention. 

"I'm looking for a few different things. First I would like to see your most lavished dresses," he spoke, the same commanding air about him when he was in peasant's clothing or a king's. 

The seamster looked up suspiciously and asked him how much he wanted to spend. 

Heero replied offhandedly that money was of no issue.

Still suspicious, the seamster lead him to some most gourious gowns and when Duo laid eyes on them.... 

He didn't care if he had to be a woman to wear that cloth, he wanted to wear it because he wanted to be beautiful and those dresses, he was convince, would make him beautiful.

"What do you think?" Heero asked, turning to Duo. "Will these be acceptable for you and Quatranine?" 

Duo schooled his face to arrogance and replied that he 'supposed they'd do', while in truth he was totally beside himself that he was even allowed to look at such a beautiful creation. All his life he was garbed in a simple tunic and drawstring pants. He shouldn't have been allowed to own such beautiful clothing. 

They looked over several, Duo trying not to want everyone one he saw, as Trowa helped pick out ones that would look best on Quatre. 

They decided on three dresses a piece. 

Then they looked through men's clothing and Duo picked out three for Heero, Trowa, and Wufei that would look best on them, saving the most handsome for Heero.

After which they picked a few traveling outfits and a few simple outfits that would be acceptable to wear around town.

The seamster was completely in shock when Heero pulled out the gold to pay for it all as his two apprentices began to wrap up the clothing. 

And while Trowa and Duo were saddling the horses, Heero picked out a few pieces of jewelry that were being marketed there and bought them discreetly to give to Duo at a later date. 

"Are you guys hungry? I'm hungry. Let's get a snack or something," Duo chattered as they wandered through the crowded streets. 

Being as Heero didn't know where he was going and it was Duo asking, he began to hawk the stands for something for Duo to eat. 

Then he saw what he wanted and made his way to the stand. He picked up three of the fruits and asked the woman where he could find a carriage. 

Duo had wormed his way through the crowd after Heero, leaving Trowa to keep the horses out of the way, and came up behind him, grabbing one of the fruits out of his hand and inspecting it. The woman continued to rattle off directions but was becoming exceedingly nervous with the 'Lady's' inspection of the fruit. She didn't want anyone rich (as she thought the two of them were) to say anything bad about her services.

Finally Duo smiled in amusement and as they walked away, asked Heero what it was.

Heero handed one to Trowa as he took the lead. 

"It's a peach," Heero spoke. "Just eat it." 

"It's...fuzzy," Duo giggled and watched as Heero bit easily into the flesh. Trowa had already begun to devour the fruit and Duo felt very foolish that he was so hesitant to try it. 

The taste exploded in his mouth, engulfing his tongue in the slick sweetness of the fruit.

Faintly he felt like he had tasted such sweetness before, though he didn't know where as he took another large bite, reveling in the taste. 

It dawned on him that it was Heero's kiss which had tasted so sweet upon his lips. 

He blushed a little at his thoughts as he continued to eat. 

Duo wished it had been a love thing, but Heero was much too good for him anyway.

After lots of bargaining, Heero bought the carriage and hooked up the two horses, moving the clothing to the storage compartment underneath.

Duo, to his disgust, was made to sit in the back alone for Heero was going to teach Trowa to drive. 

Actually, he had a lot of fun watching people pass so quickly, even if it was a little dizzying. 

"I don't mean to intrude or sound frank," Trowa spoke after Heero had given him the basics. 

"Shoot," Heero replied. 

"Are you and Duo more than friends?" 

Heero almost choked. 

"Of course not! Why would you ever think that?" Heero demanded carefully. 

Trowa shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable with Heero's reaction. 

"I don't know.... You two sleep together and seem so close...."

Heero sighed. "Duo's scared. It's a comfort for him since we slept together at the Academy." 

"Oh...." Trowa replied softly. "You two would make a nice couple...." 

Heero tried not to stare at Trowa in disbelief and keep his eyes on the road. 

"I'd expect that from Quatre, but not from you," Heero said quietly. 

Trowa shrugged once more. "I'm sorry I said anything...." 

Heero's lips formed a thin line. 

"No," he finally spoke. "Don't." 

~~~

They returned to find Quatre in a highly disheveled state. 

Surprisingly, they managed to get all the clothing upstairs without Quatre spilling everything aloud. 

He spun a web of threads that would protect outside ears from hearing, before sitting down and a letting a few tears slip out of his eyes. 

"Okay Quatre, what's wrong?" Heero finally asked, standing before him, as Trowa settled down next to him. Duo sat down on his other side and Wufei sat in the corner, looking bored. 

"My country! It's completely falling apart! They haven't had a ruler since I was sent away and it's been corrupt since!" he cried. 

Heero was surprised he cared with so much sincerity. His country sent him away because he was a freak, yet here he was shedding tears for it. 

"And...?" Heero asked, not getting the point. 

"Well, I have to do *something*!" Quatre replied as if it was obvious. 

Heero sighed and rubbed his temples. "Quatre, first of all, how will you prove to them who you are? Second of all, whether you like it or not, you do have Talent and you are one of the Sha-Zraj-Ni. All of us are needed to defeat the Zher'Nak."

Quatre's lower lip trembled. "I don't know how I'll prove it! But I've got to! I've got to do something! I can't just let my country fall to ruin before my eyes!" 

"Yes, well if you don't stick with us than more than just your country will fall to ruin!" Heero snapped back curtly. 

"Fuck off," Wufei suddenly spoke, standing. "Cut him a fucking brake, bastard. We can go see how his country is doing. It's not like we have anything better to do than wait to be attacked."

Heero was taken aback by being spoken to so brutally. 

"He has a point," Trowa said, wrapping an arm around Quatre's waist protectively and giving his best glare to Heero. He knew that Heero was mentally and physically stronger than he was, but he was going to stand his ground on this. 

Heero was for once, at a loss for words and Wufei smirked. 

"Now you know what if feels like to be stupid, mister Yuy. Your own sword always hurts the most," he whispered to Heero as he walked past him and into the other room. 

He turned to his friends, but they all looked at him like he was some kind of devil heathen. 

In attempts to save his pride, he spoke. "We can do that, if that is what you wish." 

With those words, he turned and stormed out of the room. 

He wasn't so angry as he was embarrassed and afraid. He needed them more than he liked to admit. He was always so dominating over them because he wanted to make it look like they needed him, so that he had an excuse for sticking with them other than they were the Sha-Zraj-Ni and so that he didn't have to admit he was dependent upon someone else. 

But those four meant more to him than anyone else. They were the only people he could talk to, the only people that could possibly conceive a little the pain that came with being an Artist.

He found himself in the stables and scrubbed at his eyes. 

No matter how much he could command, no matter how old he acted, he was still a fifteen year old boy and he still cared what people thought of him and he still felt like his world was crashing down when he had a fight with his friends. 

He got a glance at himself in one of the metal pans that was hanging on the wall for a horses' water when they came in. 

He felt so ugly when he cried. His face became red and his eyes got puffy and it was so weak to cry.... 

Sniffling a little and trying to hold back more tears, he grabbed a brush and walked over to their stable, throwing down his cloak on the fencing and hoping over. 

Steadily he began to brush the horse's mane, concentrating on the rhythm and not on the fight they'd just had. Not on the fact that Wufei won. Not on Duo's angry eyes.

The horse neighed it's pleasure at being brushed so, and the other seemed to get jealous. 

Heero laughed a little as she brought her nose under his neck, rubbing against it and trying to get his attention. He rubbed her nose and kissed it, turning to stroke at her hair. 

The other, noticing the absence of the brush on her mane, began to grow jealous of the other and nudged his ribs. 

Heero sighed and rested his head against her neck, stroking it carefully with his bare hand as his thoughts shifted to his personal problems. 

"Life must be so easy for you," he whispered to her. "Even if they weren't mad at me and Duo was in love with me and we were happy, I'd still be one of the Sha-Zraj-Ni.... I'd still die.... I'd still be unable to attach myself to anyone or anything for fear of getting hurt...."

"Have you named them?" Duo asked with a slight smirk and Heero was shaken and realized that he'd been standing in the doorway for a few minutes now.

Heero didn't reply for fear it was mockery and went back to stroking the one he named Yovva's mane.

Duo leaned over the fence and watched. The other walked up to him and nuzzled his cheek to get his attention, and Duo giggled and rubbed her nose. 

Heero found it ironic.... He had named that one Duo.

The two loves of his life. 

"I'm not mad at you Heero," Duo spoke softly, eyes still sparkling with mirth as Heero glanced over his shoulder. 

"You sure seemed like it," he muttered back.

"Hey, you stuck with me though my problems. You just happen to be a tad of a control freak. I'm cool. Wufei didn't really have any right to rip on you so bad. It was uncalled for. He could said it in a simpler way," Duo told him lightly, still rubbing the horse's nose. "The whole thing about waiting to die upset me, I should've stood up for you...."

Heero growled. "I don't need anyone to stand up for me." 

Duo barked a laugh back. "Everyone needs someone sometimes, Heero. Even Wufei. So remember that when he's being an recalcitrant ass [1]."

Heero tried not to giggle at Duo's terminology.

"Everyone else is still mad...."

"Nah. Quatre will just be happy that we're going to his country and when he finds out it's not as bad as the rumors say, he'll be fine. Trowa will be happy to see that Quatre's happy. Wufei.... Wufei's always an ass. Even before this incident he could be a pain a lot."

Heero sighed and turned to look at Duo. 

"Thank you," he whispered.

Duo shrugged the gratitude off. "We're friends, right? I couldn't just let you feel battered around like that." 

'Besides,' he added silently. 'I got the cutest image of you smiling with the horses.... Not to mention...I love you....' 

~Til Then~

[1] I'm sorry! I *had* to use the word! Shoot me now! I'm sooo losing it!   



	25. Goodbye Yellow brick Road part 25

**Part Twenty-Five**

They were on there way to RiaMra. The capital city of Autria and a stopping point on their journey to Yuotain. Quatre, Trowa, Wufei, and Duo were in the carriage as Heero drove. All of them were dressed lavishly besides Heero, so that he could appear as a chauffeur. 

Duo was upset with this arrangement. That meant that for this to technically work, he would almost have to pretend he was in love with Wufei. 

And he was *far* from in love with Wufei. 

Actually, he was generally pretty pissed off. 

He could lie to Heero's face and pretend like he hadn't seen all the tears in his eyes and he could lie to Heero and say that he didn't appear as though Wufei affected him, but in his heart, he knew that Heero was deeply affected by Wufei's strong hatred of him.

"I'm so happy we're going...." Quatre sighed, clutching Trowa's arm. From where he sat next to him, Duo noticed the smug 'this-is-all-because-of-me' look. 

It took all the restraint in Duo's body not to smack Wufei across the face. 

"If you don't wipe that disgusting smile off your face, Wufei, I'll do it for you," he hissed, pricking up like a cat whose tail you just stepped on. 

Wufei glared back. "What are you talking about?" 

"That stupid 'I'm-the-best-I-deserve-all-the-pride' smile you're wearing! It's not right!" Duo spat.

"Oh? I don't deserve it? After all, I am deteriorating Heero's hold on all of you. Aren't you glad? You aren't his pet."

"I'd rather be his pet than your one of your malicious little pawns! Heero does sometimes act as though he knows everything and we're all inferiors, but he doesn't feel that way! That's just to secure himself! He doesn't think we're all stupid! If you knew anything about him you'd be most gentle to him. He doesn't deserve all the shit you're giving him, Wufei, and I'd appreciate it if you just laid off. It wouldn't have been that hard to have suggested nicely that we stop in Yuotain since we had nothing better to do. Heero's just trying his hardest to do what he knows is right. Why don't *you* cut *him* a fucking break, bastard." 

It was safe to say everyone was a little surprised by Duo's sudden act of compassion for their partner. Duo was a little surprised by it himself. He'd gotten a little carried away and never meant to say near half of what he did. 

He was surprised he didn't just let the fact go that he had feelings for the other boy.... 

"Well? What do you say to that all high-and -fucking-mighty Wufei?" Duo demanded, deciding he might as well follow through. 

"I think you like him and you're blinded by your affections," Wufei replied and Duo's brows furrowed even further. 

"Oh, there ya go! That's your convent way out! Even if I *did* like him as anything more than a friend, I would like to think I'd have my head on straight enough to know wrong from right and you, Wufei, you are wrong. Maybe I'm wrong on some of my theories too, but you.... You are just wrong. 

"I can't take being in here with you anymore. I'm going out with Heero. At least then I might have some sensible conversation." 

With that Duo leaned over Quatre and Trowa and began knocking on the front of the carriage until Heero brought the horses to a halt and went back to see what was going on. 

Duo hopped easily out of the carriage and looked at Heero, who looked annoyed. 

"I'm going to ride up front with you. The current company is unacceptable." 

Heero rose an eyebrow with Duo's statement and led him, grand skirts aplenty, not easily up the small stairs to sit down. 

He shut and locked the coach door before swiftly climbing up with Duo and taking hold of the reins, starting the horses back up. 

"What went on in there?" he asked. 

Duo shrugged and made a few hand motions that meant 'nothing, nothing'. 

Heero smirked. "Nothing, eh? They were more boring than me?" 

"No," Duo sighed, giving up. "It was Wufei. The damn boy annoys me to no end.... He thinks he's soo smart be he knows nothing.... Nothing at all...."

"Well, he does know what he believes. What you mean is he has a different opinion than you can you can't stand his opinion." 

"You really should be defending me being as I just did so for you," Duo shot back, feeling under appreciated. 

Heero looked at the road. "I wish you wouldn't...."

"Oh! So are you going to become all tough-guy too on me, huh? I think I'd rather just *walk* to Yuotain if all my ideas and feelings are turned bad!" 

"No!" Heero cried, grabbing Duo's limp wrist a little too hard and making him gasp as the few working nerves squeezed together painfully. 

"Ow...." Duo whimpered, rubbing it gently and looked up at Heero with betrayed eyes. 

"I'm sorry," Heero growled. There he went again! Made *another* stupid move! At the rate he was going Duo might not despise him any more in the next...say...then years.

He was so frustrated with himself, that was part of the reason he was acting so rashly. No matter what he did he was in a bind. His future was set before him and that hurt. He wanted to chose his own path....

Not to mention he was totally negative in the hit points with Duo. Why couldn't he be suave and funny and handsome and lovable? Why couldn't he be exactly what Duo wanted? Why did he have to be so stupid and protective and inexperienced and ugly...? No matter what he did it wasn't right and it never would be because he was nothing of the type that one such as Duo would want. 

Duo was only worthy of the best queen in the entire universe, and he didn't even make a mediocre leper.

"I didn't mean to hurt you and I didn't mean to say your ideas were wrong or bad.... What I meant was.... I...I feel bad," he admitted very quietly. "I came and totally destroy all of your friendship. If it wasn't for me then you wouldn't have to fight with your friends...."

Duo was shocked that he had actually been so frank and let his hand drift over to brush across Heero's. 

"Well it doesn't matter. You're one of us too so it wasn't your choice whether or not you would break our friendship or not. Besides, once Wufei stops being so stupid I'll be friends with him again," Duo spoke, smiling lightly. "Anyway, I know I.... I was glad to met you.... Even if the others don't care.... You mean something to me...." 

Heero looked over at the other and noticed his beauty in the sunlight, a small blush across his face. 

"Well, I'm happy to know that not everyone thinks I'm a completely waste of time...."

Duo rested his head on Heero's shoulder as they rode. 

"I think you're far from that.... You were the only one who believed I had Visions, you helped me, you took care of me when I was ill, whether it be from Visions or after my...my escape attempts.... You saved my life.... You got me out into the world, even if it will only be for a short while, you've showed me more than I've seen in the past fifteen years of my life, and for that, I am thankful." 

Heero was quiet. 

"Well...I can't say I'm not grateful for you...." 

Duo looked up at the other, their noses almost touching. 

"I needed someone to make me human once again...." Heero whispered, blushing a little as he looked forward. 

Duo laughed, remembering the earlier days. 

"Remember how you pinned me to the wall with that bed?" 

Heero smirked and turned back to look at Duo. 

"How could I...forget...."

Suddenly they realized just how close they were and turned away, scooting apart and staring at the road ahead, both their hearts pounding and their minds racing. 

Why was it so hard to say 'I love you'?

~~~

She was unpacking her bags. 

"Almost a full day ahead of them, Dorothy...." she spoke in soft tones to herself. "Almost a full day and you know everything about them...." 

She giggled as she pulled out a dress and twirled it around the room, holding the sleeves to her shoulders. 

An exact replica of one that they Heero brought previously.

"Treize was a fool.... He could not win a simple duel." 

She tsked as she set aside a brush and a few items of jewelry.

"One most use the most affective firepower.... One must use seduction." 

~Til Then~  



	26. Goodbye Yellow brick Road part 26

**Part Twenty-Six**

Heero helped Duo slide out of his clothing and into the tub before telling him that he would be down in the bar with the others. 

Duo smiled and watched him leave, sighing contently as he sunk down into the warm water. 

Yes, he had his dreams.... 

Heero wandered down and ordered a beer nonchalantly. He had acquired a taste for it on the long journey to the Academy. Often times it was the only thing he had to drink. And in a very sick way, it was almost a comfort 'food' to him.

Wufei sat at a table playing cards, Kings, and was losing miserably. 

Trowa and Quatre were eating a light meal, talking softly amongst themselves. 

Heero decided that the card table would be more interesting and sat behind the other men and gave them tricks to play, frustrating Wufei to no end. 

When the next hand came around, Heero was invited to join and flashed his most beautiful smile at Wufei and sat down on the round stool and was dealt the best hand of his life. 

Game after game they played and game after game, Heero won. The other men were content because Wufei was still losing much worse than they were. 

"What do you think we should do about Heero and Wufei?" Quatre asked gently, looking down into his soup and setting down his spoon. 

"They need to work out their problems."

"Who do you believe, though? Heero, Wufei, or Duo? Duo seems mighty defensive of Heero. It would be hard to go against him...."

Trowa nodded. "That's true, but I do feel Wufei is carrying this a little overboard. He doesn't need to be *so* harsh to Heero. Heero is, after all, just trying to do the right thing. Maybe he doesn't deserve all the defense as Duo feels, but neither does Wufei. 

"However I think they will work it out, eventually. We can't fight all the time and Heero will realize that. Eventually, so will Wufei. I think what we need to be concerned about now is your country." 

Quatre nodded, but still could not finish his soup. 

Duo was out of his bath and dry and dressed in a simple night-gown. He realized it would be much too hard for him alone to try and redress himself, and being a little sleepy, decided to go to bed then. Sure, Heero wasn't there yet, but he didn't really have another option. By the time he would've gotten one of the dresses on himself, the sun would've fallen and risen thrice over. 

So he lay down and curled up under the sheets, waiting for Heero to join him. '

Meanwhile.... 

All the heads turned in the bar as a beautiful women descended the stairway, her long blond hair flowing behind her. She had such grace and poise....

Quatre saw Heero give up his card game to talk to her. And he talked to her as if they were best friends. 

"Does that seem a little strange to you?" Quatre asked softly and Trowa looked up. 

"Huh?" 

"Look at Heero." 

Trowa watched as they two flirted. 

"That Heero's attracted to her?" he asked, confused. 

"No, not quite...." Quatre answered. "The fact they talk so friendly...." 

"Maybe they know each other," Trowa replied, shrugging. 

"You think so?" 

Trowa nodded. "Heero's been exposed to a lot more people than we have." 

"That is true...." Quatre murmured, but he had a vague premonition that this wasn't all that it seemed. 

Suddenly both made their way back up the stairs. 

Wufei, losing still, decided to quit and walked over to Quatre and Trowa. 

"Heero's found himself a whore," he spoke softly, sitting down across from them. 

Neither boy thought of this prospect. 

Quatre found it disgusting. 

"And that would be his business," Trowa defended. "If he feels he needs that, then that's his own personal decision and I will not hold it against him." 

"Of course not, Trowa," Wufei replied acidly. "And if he gets her pregnant, then we will all overlook that because that was what he needed."

Trowa was shocked that he had spoken so bluntly and so harshly to him. 

Wufei knew enough of his past to have figured Trowa was a product of prostitution. But he didn't know just how close he hit to home by suggesting it was Heero. For his father was an Artist.... 

"This isn't your place, Wufei," Quatre shot, holding Trowa's hand protectively. 

They had already been through the 'I-don't-deserve-you-because-I'm-a-mistake' discussion several times and if Wufei made Trowa recede back into that part of himself....

Quatre would not be a happy Artist....

"I was just taking the opportunity to show you Heero's flaws," Wufei spoke nonchalantly, standing. 

"How about I follow you around and point out all your flaws," Quatre hissed. 

"I can't believe you want to be controlled by him! He's not better than you! Don't defend him!" Wufei cried. 

"I'm defending him because he's right," Quatre retorted, standing. "When you're right, I'll defend you too." 

"When he gets her pregnant we'll see who you're defending." 

Wufei stomped away as Quatre reclaimed his seat wearily. 

"That wasn't right of him." Quatre grasped Trowa's hand in his own and kissed it. "He shouldn't have said those things."

"But what if...." 

"Once more it's none of our business. Heero can deal with it himself. On the rare chance he does get her pregnant, (remember, they might just be acquaintances), he wouldn't bring us into it. Heero's wiser and more responsible than Wufei gives him credit for." 

Trowa held Quatre's hand a little tighter.

~~~

Duo wondered when Heero was coming up to bed. He heard Quatre and Trowa enter the other room. Well, he didn't know for sure, but that was his educated guess. 

He wanted to hear about Heero's bar experience and have his soft voice lull him to sleep....

It was the one thing he hoped he'd never lose.

Suddenly there was a slam and a low moan of what Duo perceived to be...pleasure.

A thick blush covered his face as he realized why Quatre and Trowa were up in their room so early. 

Then he heard a woman's shriek and was perplexed. Either Quatre had a really high voice, or Wufei.... 

Suddenly it hit him, as he recognized the voice with another low moan, that it wasn't Quatre and Trowa, nor was it Wufei. 

It was Heero. 

Though he knew it was all dreams and everything, he began to cry.

All the hope he'd built up, the happiness, the love.... It all came crashing to the ground, totally destroying and devastating his fragile heart. It writhed and burned in his own jealous passion and lust.... 

His shoulders began to shake, violent sobs wracking his thin body. 

And Heero wouldn't hold him....

~~~

Heero brushed honey-brown bangs away from Duo's forehead, kissing it softly. 

"Oh, my love...." he whispered to the now sleeping form as he sunk further into the sheets and wrapped his arms tight around his waist. 

Duo shifted closer into the touch and smiled in his dreams. 

"I will never leave you...." Heero whispered, his own smile spreading wide across his face as he nuzzled into Duo's still sweaty neck.

~Til Then~  



	27. Goodbye Yellow brick Road part 27

Part Twenty-Seven

Heero awoke and shook his head several times. 

There were a few things wrong. 

Duo wasn't in the bed with him, and he was not in their bed, let alone their room. 

He decided he must've been in Quatre and Trowa's. Which was odd, but no where near enough to ruin his joyous mood.

He sat up and smiled happily. First thing on his agenda, give Duo a good-morning kiss. 

Standing, he grabbed a robe and threw it on and opened the door. 

He tried to approach Duo, but Duo shrieked and backed into the corner. 

Then he noticed how everyone had stopped and were looking at him funny, while attempting not to. 

Wufei was smirked. 

Perhaps Wufei smirking was what truly told him he was in trouble. 

Once more he took a step toward Duo, but Duo looked as though he tried to climb into the wall. 

"Stay away from me!" he screeched. "You-you-- whore!" 

"Duo," Quatre spoke softly, crossing the room to him and wrapping him into a hug. "It is his right...." he whispered as a few tears fell down Duo's cheeks. 

"Oh Divine," he whispered. "What did I do?" 

Wufei's smirk grew and Trowa glared at him. 

"You're not helping, Wufei." 

Heero's mind was racing. "Did-did I hurt you last night? I didn't mean--" 

"Fuck yes!" Duo's shriek echoed off the walls and Heero couldn't help but flinch.

"I'm sorry, I.... I thought you were happy...." 

Heero felt so lost, so helpless. What did he do wrong? Weren't they in love? Didn't he please him last night?

"Oh yes, Heero," Wufei spat. "He was just ecstatic he got to listen to you and that prostitute last night." 

"Wufei--!" Quatre hissed, still rubbing Duo's back. 

"Prostitute?!" Heero cried. 

Just as things seemed to fall apart, they came together. 

But the outcome was so much worse.... When they were together.... 

It was like a jigsaw with a picture of hell painted on the pieces. 

"Oh, do you prefer to call them courtesans, Mister Dignity?" 

Heero tried to ignore Wufei's harsh gibe. 

"Quatre, I have to talk to you," he begged, his eyes tearing up at the corners. 

Quatre felt pity for him and brushed back Duo's bangs comfortingly before turning and having trouble meeting Heero's eyes. 

"Yes?" 

"Can we...have a little privacy...?" Heero asked humbly, but Quatre nodded, and so they walked into the other room. Quatre wove a net so that the others wouldn't hear them and Heero collapsed on the bed, hugging himself. 

"Yes Heero?" 

"I.... I trust you more than the others and you're the only one that will actually listen....

"I swear that last night, that wasn't a prostitute."

"Explain," Quatre ordered. 

"Well, for...for a long time I've had feelings for Duo.... Deep feelings...." Heero was blushing like a maniac and if the situation wasn't so messed-up, Quatre thought it might have been cute. "I'm not going to pretend I haven't had dirty thoughts.... I have.... A lot of them.... But I know he doesn't love me and I would never violate him like that." 

Quatre nodded as he settled down in a chair, Heero playing with the fabric of his robe nervously as he spoke. 

"You tell him and I'll never forgive you," Heero threatened lamely. 

A smile appeared on Quatre's face. "You have my confidence." 

"So yes, I...I have feelings for Duo.... Last night, I swear across my life, to heaven, to hell and back again that it was Duo that descended that staircase. I walked back up with Duo so we could have some privacy and he told me he loved me. We got so carried away with our words and emotions that, well...yeah....

"I thought it was Duo. If I'm lying, I hope the Divine shall take me now. I never meant any of this. If I knew it wasn't Duo, I would've never even talked to whoever it was."

Quatre thought about this. 

That was right.... How Heero was so friendly.... It seemed strange then, but he acted just how he did when he was with Duo....

Maybe.... 

It wasn't Duo, though. It was a woman with blond hair.... Long, long blond hair....

"You don't think it was one of the Zher'Nak...do you?" 

Heero sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "I do think that, but it would sound like an awfully nice excuse, you know? I don't know what to think anymore...." 

It dawned on Quatre that Heero was crying. 

"I wanted the first time to be special," he whispered, his voice cracking. "I wanted-wanted it to be with Duo.... With someone that meant something to me.... I wanted it to be love...." 

He curled up into a little ball, sobbing into his knees, rocking slowly back and forth. 

"I made a bad mistake.... I never wanted...wanted to hurt him.... I wanted it to be special, so special.... Commitment.... They knew I wanted that.... Duo...." 

His voice was so choked with deep sobs that he couldn't continue any further, and against all his better judgment, Quatre just couldn't believe that he would've fallen to a prostitute, had it been his knowledge. He sounded so sincere, so hurt.... 

So, even though it was the deepest way to violate a person, Quatre dug into his Emotional Web while he was off guard, and he found himself shedding a few tears. 

It was no lie. 

His entire heart and being poured out love for Duo, and was filled with pain at his mistake. There was so much blood and pain in his Web--

"Oh no!" Quatre gasped, falling on the bed next to Heero and wrapping his arms tightly around his shaking frame. He stroke at his hair as he sobbed harder into his knees. 

All his thoughts were suicide. 

Heero knew that Quatre knew this and had entered his Web, and Quatre sort of knew that Heero wasn't completely unaware of this fact, either. 

But Heero didn't care. 

What had his life been? He's hurt everyone that ever meant anything to him. 

He killed a man and scared away his sweetheart. He was beat and raped and locked behind stone walls. He destroyed a multitude of young boys and men as stone crushed their bodies and he pulled their limbs apart without a touch. He was lured into a sex trap and managed only to hurt the person closest to his heart, when he thought that he was pleasing him. 

Was there anything he could do right? 

Was their anyone he couldn't hurt?

"I feel like I'm a joke of the Divine's...." Heero whispered as Quatre held him. 

"We need you, Heero." 

"No one needs me.... No one needs a fuck-up like me...." Heero replied, sniffling and trying to stop crying. "How can I ever face Duo again...?" Just the mention of Duo's name sent him spiraling back into tears. 

There was a knock on the door and Trowa's worried voice came from the other side. 

"Give me some time!" Quatre called back, then turned to Heero and hugged him tighter. "I believe you, but Wufei won't."

"*Why* do you believe me?" 

Quatre was quiet, then finally spoke. 

"Because I've seen you cry." 

Heero wiped at his puffy eyes. 

"But you can't cry for Wufei," Quatre sighed in frustration. "They'll just have to believe...." 

Heero quickly began to rebuild himself and stood. 

"There must be a reason for this trap," Heero spoke, beginning to pace across the room. 

Quatre nodded. "Yes, yes! A reason!" he begged. 

Heero began to meditate on what would motivate the Zher'Nak to want him to engage in intercourse with one of them. 

"Maybe they wanted you to get her pregnant?" Quatre suggested. "Obviously they wanted something badly to observe you, realize you loved Duo when the fact escaped even us, and weave an Illusion so you would--"

Quatre halted abruptly as Heero crumpled upon the ground, clutching his chest. 

A searing pain had cut through his heart and totally threw him off. By the time it had ended, he was panting and sweating. 

Quatre helped him to his feet, wiping away his sweat with a corner of the bed blanket. 

"Do...do you think they took a piece of your Soul?" Quatre asked fearfully. 

Heero leaned heavily on him. 

"I don't know.... That's never happened before...."

"Heero...they might kill you!" 

Heero lowered his head until he stared at the floor. 

And he tried not to smile. 

Death would be all too kind....

~Til Then~  



	28. Goodbye Yellow brick Road part 28

**Part Twenty-Eight**

Once more Quatre, Trowa, Wufei, and Duo were in the carriage. Quatre was the only one in complete defense of Heero. Duo was still hurting something terrible and was constantly trying to keep himself from breaking down. Wufei made snide remarks. Trowa was beside himself. He wanted to believe his lover, but he had never witness what Quatre was calling, one of Heero's "attacks". 

It was safe to say they were all very quiet. 

Quatre decided to start a friendly conversation for the sake of sanity. 

"Isn't--"

The carriage stopped suddenly, along with the beginning of a conversation. 

Duo sighed and opened the door. 

"I'll see what's wrong," he growled, knowing it was his job since he was closest to the door, and filled himself with his Talent as he stepped out. 

No matter how much pain Heero caused him, compassion swelled in his heart and he leaned down next to Heero and pet his back. 

Heero lay on the ground, curled up in a little ball, hugging himself so tightly.... His eyes squeezed shut in pain....

Duo begged him to stop as his shoulders began to shudder violently. 

Then his lips parted and Duo's skirts were speckled with crimson as Heero started to vomit his own blood. 

The pain was excruciating. He felt as though someone was slicing his heart slowly into thing pieces with no concern for his pain. The only thing keeping him from drowning in the pain was Duo's gentle hands. 

He stopped as tears began to pour down his cheeks. His throat was raw and bleeding and it hurt so much just to swallow....

"Dear Divine," Duo whispered. "What in the hell happened?" 

Heero fainted in his arms. 

~~~

When he came to again, Heero was staring at the top of the carriage. 

He gave a small moan and nuzzled into the warmth in which his head rested. Careful, tender hands brushed his cheeks and he'd never felt so comfortable. 

Except he still tasted the copper of his blood and it still hurt to swallow. 

His eye lids slipped closed as he drifted back into sleep. 

~~~

"I'm still hurt," Duo murmured as he ran his hand through Heero's soft hair while he slept, his head in his lap. 

Quatre never mentioned Duo was the sex trap. All anyone knew was that Heero was heavily influenced into sex, not that the woman actually weaved an Illusion around herself so that she appeared to be Duo. 

"He wasn't committed to you," Quatre mumbled.

"When the only thing you have comes crashing to the ground, it takes a while to pick yourself back up," was Duo's answer. 

Quatre nodded slowly, understanding this to an extent. 

He didn't know if he would be so easy to forgive, if it were Trowa. 

"I don't want to say this in front of Wufei, or even Trowa, really, but I'm awfully scared for Heero...." Quatre whispered, though Wufei and Trowa were outside driving. 

Duo looked at the resting boy and stroked his cheek. 

"Oh?" 

"I'm afraid that if we don't kill the Second Keeper, she'll kill him first...." 

"But how do we find her?" Duo asked, becoming a little fearful himself. 

"I-I don't know...." 

Heero moaned lightly once more, and his eyes snapped open. Duo gave him a weak smile. 

When Heero realized that his head was laying in Duo's lap, he immediately tried to jump up. 

But Duo refrained him from hurting himself, shoving him down into his skirts. 

"Hey, easy tough-guy," he warned with a smirk. "The amount of blood you just threw-up back their was atrocious and I don't really want a replay of what happened while were in the coach."

Heero did feel a little dizzy and welcomed the comfort of Duo's hands and lap.

"Where's Trowa and Wufei?" he asked softly. 

"Outside driving. We're certainly not letting you drive any more!" Quatre cried. "Not until we find her and kill her...." He winced with his own words. 

The idea of killing a woman, even a Keeper of Hell.... It just didn't feel right.

They were all uncomfortably silent. 

"We should make it to a city...." Heero murmured softly. 

Duo grew a little excited. He was growing very fond of cities and towns. 

"Oh, but we won't have time to explore!" he whined. 

Suddenly Heero lifted himself out of Duo's lap and leaned heavily against the other side of the carriage, panting from the exertion. 

Duo grasped his shoulders, crying for him to stop that madness and lay back down. 

"Get off," Heero growled and Duo backed away, hurt. "How can you touch me?" 

Duo covered his face with a hand as he tried not to cry. 

"What--?" 

"Heero," Quatre whispered. 

"You're one of my friends!" Duo answered, a few tears slipping down his cheeks.

He wasn't aware of it, none of them were, but he was suffering from severe depression. Uncontrollable depression. And Heero wasn't far behind. The smallest though or frustration could send him sliding quickly downhill. 

How can you forgive me?" he stuttered. 

"Because it wasn't *you*!" Duo replied, hugging Heero's shoulders. "You were influenced!" 

"And even without that fact, it's your choice. It's just hard to accept we have our own choices now," Quatre said firmly. "We're so used to having our decisions made for us. We have to get used to this new way of life."

Heero wiped his eyes and tilted his head to face Duo, who's head was no on his shoulder, and his cheeks wet with tears. 

Heero fondled his cheeks, brushing away the tears. 

"Do you mean that?" 

Duo nodded. 

"I'm sorry I'm acting so stupid." 

Duo barked a laugh at Heero. 

"You think you're acting stupid.... We're all acting stupid. Stupid and selfish," Duo replied, just happy Heero wasn't mad. 

"Maybe...maybe we'll be able to explore the town...." Heero whispered, pain aching at his body as he began to shiver violently. 

"Heero?" Duo's brows knitted together as he hugged him tighter. "You should lay down.... You really should rest now, Heero...." 

Heero allowed Duo to lay him down, and he curled up into a little ball, suddenly freezing cold.

"I'm cold...."

"Heero...?" 

"So...c-cold...." 

Duo stroked at his feverish forehead. "What the fuck did she do?" he growled. 

Quatre shrugged. "I think we have to k-kill her." 

"I will," he swore softly. "No one hurts Heero like this." 

~Til Then~  



	29. Goodbye Yellow brick Road part 29

**Part Twenty-Nine**

By three days time they had made it to the capital.

And they couldn't leave. 

Heero was in such a condition he could hardly walk. Sometimes he felt perfectly fine, but always she attacked him when he was feeling best. 

Duo was growing sick of the capital. It may have been huge, exciting, but it held nothing but reminders of pain for him. How Heero would writhe in anguish and not be able to move. He'd vomit food and blood, his body would convulse, he'd loose control, and even when he had control he would try to rip of his skin from all the pain. He just wanted to be *out*. 

And Duo could do nothing. 

He didn't think Heero saw how upset he was. How the tears poured from his eyes like rivers of rain as he tried to stop the hurt. Tried to keep him from ripping apart his own body. 

Right now, Duo was off duty watching Heero (though he almost had to be dragged from his bed) and had come back up from the bar where he had tried to eat, but found he couldn't lift the fork to his mouth. Quatre was becoming worried for he looked as though he'd lost ten pounds and he hadn't started out in the peak of good health. 

Right then he was hugging his knees and dabbing at his eyes, sitting alone in his room, on the bed, whimpering. 

"Why, Heero? Why must I see my love suffer so...? If only...if only it were me.... I don't matter, but you...."

Suddenly the door opened and Heero walked in. 

"Duo?" Heero murmured, walking to him and joining him on the bed. "Are you okay?" 

"I'm.... Heero, you should be in bed." 

Heero shook his head. "I'm fine now." 

He lifted a hand to Duo's cheek, caressing it gently.

"You shouldn't worry anymore." 

"Heero...." 

Duo's breath caught in his throat. He thought he was merely dreaming as Heero leaned over, soft hair brushing against his cheeks, fingers lacing with his own. 

But when their lips connected, it felt so real.... 

Once more he tasted the sweet--

"What in the name of Holy Light--!" Trowa raged, slamming open the door and interrupting Duo's thoughts and their kiss. 

"Trowa!" Duo gasped. 

Then Trowa lifted Heero and threw him into the wall.

For a brief second, Heero wasn't Heero, in Duo's eyes, but a woman with long blond hair and vicious snarl. 

"Heero...." Duo whispered, digging his hands into his hair in confusion. "What's going on?" 

Through the door, Heero was lying on the bed. Back in the room, Heero rose, seething with rage. 

"Reisun!" he hissed, physically assaulting Trowa, who easily bound his wrists in his own. 

"Reisun!" he screeched again as Duo's mind reeled. "You bastard! You illegitimate child! You won't defeat me! I'm carrying Shukan's child!" 

Suddenly the shade dropped and she was Heero no long as Duo crashed to the floor, falling on his knees. 

_"Don't worry, Johné," the tall man comforted, resting a hand on his broad shoulder. "We'll find the Earth Artist and fulfill the prophecy." _

_"I hope you're right, Reisun," he replied. "I hope you're right...."_

Duo started to scream as Trowa threw the woman into the wall. There was a loud splintering sound as her body broke boards. Blood began seeping from the splintered pieces. 

Springing from the boards, she dashed forward. 

"Reisun!" she seethed as Heero began to howl in the other room. 

_He looked in on the tall man buried in his own books as he whispered verse and tried to understand the meaning behind the words._

_"Just a little longer, Johné," he begged softly._

_"You should have more concern for your health, Reisun," was the reply. "There are people that need you."_

_"Their may be no one left to need us if I cannot figure out the meanings that are trapped inside these books." _

_He sighed. "Tomorrow we leave...."_

Quatre and Wufei stood in the doorway, trying to process the situation in a matter of moments. 

"She's one of them," Trowa shouted, attacking her as they exchanged blows.

Heero's cries from the other room were blood curdling and Duo's were near as bad as he hunkered on the floor, pulling out his own hair in frustration. 

Why now?! Why the visions--?!

Wufei lit her dress afire. 

Quatre tried to appease Trowa's mind and make him think more clearly. 

Heero died.

"I'm carrying Shukan's baby, you thieves!" 

She began to shriek as she beat the floor and tried to rip off her dresses. 

_"Reisun," he whispered, his head resting on the other man's chest._

_"Johné.... Shh...." his whispered back, his fingers running soothingly through his blood soaked hair._

_A sharp, painful intake of breath and...._

_"The others?" _

_"Shhh.... They'll be fine...." _

_"We never found Earth, Reisun...." _

_"But I found the Sky...." came the gently reply with the soft meeting of lips to follow it. _

_He smiled a small smile of love. "You'll be okay...right?"_

_"Of course," Reisun scoffed in mock indigence, but the tears in his eyes were clear even to the blind. _

_"I'm just going to take a little nap," came the too light voice. _

_"I'll be waiting for your wake." _

_"I love you, Reisun...." _

Duo's eyes shot open and everything was in flames. 

"Just like hell...." he murmured, totally calm. A smile came across his face. "Death is so warm...." 

"Reisun...." her voice gurgled, yanking Duo back into reality. "You killed me, and so you killed the last heir of Shukan, the only heir." 

"He isn't Shukan, nor a direct descendant," Trowa replied firmly as the room burnt down around them. 

Flame sucked at their feet, lapping for their lives. 

Screams were heard outside. Screams of pain, screams of fear, children...crying.... In the streets.... 

Pain.

Fear. 

Crying.... So much crying.... So many tears to put out all the raging flame.... 

The flame that gives life and takes it so easily away. 

"No heir," she whispered. __

_"There can't be an heir.... I can't have an heir...." _

_"And heir to what, Reisun? You are intoxicated so much that you can't even remember that which you own most of. Nothing," he muttered sadly._

_"I have you," Reisun replied. _

_"That's right, Reisun. I cannot produce you an heir, nor could you give me to them if I could," Johné replied solemnly. _

_Reisun giggled stupidly. "I wouldn't want to give you to them." _

_Johné smiled. "Good, because I wouldn't want to be given up. Hey.... How long has it been...?" _

_"Since?" _

_"Since we started studying the books?" _

_"Long time...." _

_"It was my forty-eighth summer.... Funny.... I lost count...." _

_"It's been five springs, Johné," he spoke, melancholy thick in his voice._

_"Five.... When did we meet the others?" _

_"Almost three winters...." _

_"Oh.... So long ago.... So much longer to go...."_

Slowly Duo stood...and began to walk. Through the inferno. 

To the other room. 

To Heero.... 

Heero lay still, face down in his own pooling, drying blood. 

"Your wake...my lovely...my precious.... Waiting for your wake," he spoke monotonously from dry, cracked lips as he knelt down by Heero's body. 

"I love you.... Forgive the mistake...." Duo stroked his hair, sore eyes forced open on his will. 

"I'll only kiss you...now...." 

Duo flipped over his still body, looking on his face, cradling it in one hand.... It was painted.... Painted crimson....

He pet it, eyes unable to produce tears even for his one and only.

"Duo--!" a voice gasped. 

Only background noise. 

Soft, lost in the fire. 

Soft.... Lost in the fire of his heart....

Duo pressed his mouth fervently to Heero's. Stale blood, sticky, copper pain filled his mouth and covered his tongue.

"Waiting...." he managed, before he became dead to the world. 

~Til Then~  



	30. Goodbye Yellow brick Road part 30

**Part Thirty**

_clunk clunk clunk_

Duo never felt so weak in his entire life. His whole body ached and he could not even open his eyes.

He moaned lightly and shifted a little, feeling jolted and taking in the harsh, persistent sound of...horse hooves on firm ground.

Shifting a little more, he realized he was lying next to someone and that he shouldn't try to move again for pain flooded his body.

"You awake?" came Quatre's gentle voice from above.

"Yes," Duo replied and winced at his own voice, so harsh, raw, and soft.

"You should rest."

"Where am I?"

"After...two nights ago...you fainted. Heero.... We fled the city while the inn burned. We're continuing to Yuotain," Quatre explained.

"Heero...?"

"He hasn't awoke."

_"I'll be waiting for your wake...."_

"Quatre...." Duo whispered. "I'm falling...."

~~~

Heero's eyes shot open.

It was dark.

He sat up quickly, taking in all of his surroundings.

He was not fully clothed. He was in a bed. An inn, most likely, at night. There was soft breathing next to him.

He turned and stared down upon Duo's face.

A smile curved on his lips.

Duo always looked like an angel when he slept.

"Ah, Duo.... You don't have to worry anymore.... All the tears you cried...I don't want you to cry them anymore...." he whispered, petting his cheek, stroking his bangs. "So beautiful, like a tear fallen from an angel in heaven.... The most precious diamond. Not something to bind to your finger, trapped in a silver cage, in a ring, but to wear around the neck, close to your heart, allowing it's influence, hanging free on a chain.... Not to own, but to see, hold, and cherish...."

Duo stirred and Heero backed away.

"Wha...?" he mumbled as he began to wake.

"I think we're in an inn," Heero spoke quietly as Duo opened his eyes.

"Heero!" he cried, wrapping his arm around his waist and burying his head in his stomach. "I thought you were dead!"

"No, no...." Heero whispered, smiling. "I'm pretty resilient."

"How long have we been out?"

"Days, I'm guessing."

"You hungry?"

Heero laughed. "Do you feel okay?"

Duo gave him a cheesy grin. "I'm asking for food, aren't I?"

"I meant physically," Heero returned, tickling him lightly. Duo laughed and hugged him tighter.

"I'm well enough to get dressed and make it down the stairs for a bite to eat!"

"Ah, so I thought! Come, I'll help you wash and dress."

Quickly they washed and dressed, in nothing too exquisite. They were both still tired, however both hungry, and would only stay to eat.

"Oh, damn it...." Duo suddenly cursed, as Heero turned in curiosity, buttoning his shirt.

"What is it?"

"I--I lost the necklace you gave to me," he mumbled foolishly, wringing his hands and twisting his dress in his fingers. "It must've gotten left behind when we fled.... Oh Heero, I'm so sorry! I never meant to lose it! I cherished it.... It--it was the only real thing of any kind of value I had.... I...I.... Please forgive me...."

Heero gave a small frown, but quickly dug through his bag, relieved to find the small paper package tied with twine he had managed to keep hidden from them all.

"No matter; do not worry. It wasn't your fault. They had to flee quickly; there was no concern for such things. But--" Heero turned to him, package held in his hands. Slowly he crossed the room and settled down beside him. "Here. I got you these back on the border of Autria.... I hoped that maybe you wouldn't react to negatively the second time...."

Duo quickly untied the thread and pushed back the paper and his eyes shimmered with tears.

Heero couldn't decide which was more beautiful, the jewels or Duo's eyes.

"Put them on for me," Duo whispered, trying to hold back his happiness from flooding out of his eyes as he dabbed at them gently.

Heero shifted and clasped the necklace around his elegant neck, snapping on the bracelet, sliding on the ring, and clinching the jeweled chain around his forehead.

"The ladies wear them in Autria as a sign of luck, fortune, and royalty," Heero explained softly, wishing only to grace those soft lips with a kiss, and knowing he would never have the strength. "Once they were a sign of witches, now they are a sign of strength and elegance...."

"Heero...." Duo whispered. "I-I don't know what to say.... You shouldn't be this kind to me...you shouldn't know that I adore such things.... That I this is the one of the only gifts I ever received, thirded only because of the necklace you gave me and the freedom you have given to me...."

Heero was blushing so hard he turned his face away.

"Don't think of it.... It was nothing.... At all...." he managed out before standing. "Come now, let's eat."

And so they made their way down the stairs and into the bar.

Immediately they sat down at Quatre and Trowa's table.

Quatre about died to see them awake.

"You two have finally awoken! How wonderful!" he cried, clutching Trowa's arm in excitement. "You must eat something!"

"That was the original plan," Duo giggled, tracing circles on the table with his finger.

"How long have we been out?" Heero asked, genuinely curious.

"Ah, Duo has been floating on consciousness since the second day. You...you've been dead to everything. It's been maybe thirteen or fourteen passes of the sun since that night...."

"Oh my...." Heero murmured. "Where are we now?"

"A town called Ju, a few days from the Yuotain border," Trowa spoke.

"Ah...."

A severing girl came and took their orders and Duo was utterly excited to find that they had fresh chicken just cooked to be served.

"Duo, I don't mean to upset you," Quatre started as she ran back to get their food, "but what happened to you that night?"

Duo was silent for a few long moments.

"Who was that woman?" he finally asked.

"The Keeper of the Second Gate, I know only that," Heero replied. "I don't know her name, but that she can alter visions...obviously."

"She called Trowa Reisun," Duo pointed out. "I suspect that has to do with the fact that she called you, Heero, Shukan?"

"Yes. Whoever this Reisun is must've been reincarnated as Trowa," Heero answered, looking over at Trowa.

They halted their conversation as the food was brought and a few minutes after so that Duo could stuff his face before he actually paused and tried to taste the food.

"Well, you see," Duo started up again after a few minutes of rapid eating. "I started having visions.... Very intense visions, of who I was when Trowa was Reisun. I...I was a man named Johné. I was Reisun's lover.... I...died. I do not know much more."

They took this in.

"How did you die?"

"I'm...not sure. You must understand, Johné was Reisun's lover and Reisun was with him as he died. All he could see was Reisun. I know I was bleeding severely. I know that Reisun was obsessed with studying books. I think I was too, but not to that extent. There were other people we knew, but I did not see any of them in these visions. Only Reisun. However Reisun and Johné were searching for an Earth Artist. Searching hard. When I died, I felt it all ended."

"Do you know anything about this, Heero?" Trowa asked as Duo finished and sipped some of his soup.

Heero shook his head. "I've never heard these names. Reisun, Johné.... Nothing about them."

Quatre sighed. "They sound awfully familiar.... I'd like to ask if Wufei knows."

"Speaking of the black haired bitch, where is he?" Duo growled.

Trowa nodded his head to the side. "Talking it up with a lady."

Duo glared at them in contempt as he saw him and a flirtatious maid chatting. She made him blush almost every other second.

"Whore is more like it...." Duo muttered.

"Really you should try to get along with him. We are bound to each other, after all," Quatre reminded him gently.

"Just cause I may be in a bed, doesn't mean I have to like it," Duo returned.

"As I know Wufei would say, if you have no choice about that bed, then you should hope it is a comfortable one," Trowa threw back nonchalantly.

"Well this one isn't," Duo retorted.

"I think that you could make it so," Trowa suggested.

'The only way I could make it so was for Heero to join me,' Duo thought and tried not to snicker, as he looked over at the other, who had finished his meal and was listening to the conversation with half an ear, the other to the music.

"Would you dance with me?" he asked of Duo suddenly, turning to stare him in the eye.

"Of course!" Duo replied as Heero took him by the hand and onto the floor, spinning him around as the song started.

"What do you think I should do about Wufei? He has insulted me and you both," Duo inquired, knowing Heero would give him the best advice.

"I hate to say it, but I agree with Trowa and Quatre. You should at least be courteous. He is an ass, as you put it, and a bitch, but he has also had a harder time then the rest of us. I would give him his space, but be nice, or at least civil."

Duo grumbled at his reply, but knew that he was right.

"Fine. I shall do that then. I will not do it happily, but I will do it willingly. I just hope he doesn't make it exceedingly hard for me or else I should think he would fear for his life."

Heero barked a laugh, but reminded Duo that he could not kill him or else he would fear for his.

"True, the words you speak.... If I shall not kill him, I should hope he would then fear that his life would be a living hell."

Heero smiled. "And that it should if you desire it to be."

"Are you insinuating I'm a devil?" Duo asked with a evil smirk.

"All the time," Heero answered, pulling him off to the side as a slow song began.

"Heero?"

"Shh...." he murmured. "Just...let me think for a moment...."

Slowly Duo swayed to the music, curiosity overwhelming him. Heero was pensive always, yes, but never seemed so nervous. His arms had become so tense around his body, his movement ridged and harsh.

"Are you--?"

"Duo.... I have dreamed of this, and yet feared it so.... It has been my fantasy and yet has plagued my head in nightmares."

"What is so wonderfully awful th--"

Before he could finish, Heero had engulfed his mouth in his own, his lips dancing on Duo's, needing to feel he was really there.

And Duo melted in his arms. His legs became weak and he felt that he should fall at any instant, but for then he would lose contact with Heero and so he would stay standing 'til eternity, if Heero would hold him so long.

Heero moved away and stared down at the beauty his hands possessed. Duo's eyes were still closed, his mouth parted slightly, still longing for the taste.

Slowly they opened and he stared at Heero as though intoxicated.

"What was that--"

"Duo...." he whispered, his face ablaze with blush as he hugged Duo close to his chest, kissing his hair. "I fear I will die and have never told you this.... And the only thing worse than death, is the death of someone who has undeclared love trapped inside of them."

"Heero--"

"Shh, do not speak.... For I do not want fowl words right now.... I want to weave to you with words everything that is contained within my heart, but I fear that I cannot take on such a task...."

"Heero--"

"I am a weak man, Duo.... Foolish, stupid, weak.... I have become a subject to my own love and longing for you, and it blinded me. That is why it was made so easy for her to take me and use me. She disguised herself as you, the one thing I was sure to fall for, the one thing my heart could not deny...."

"Heero--"

"Shh, do not say a word, for this moment is what I want to cherish, no matter the outcome. Just to hold you in my arms and have your trust is to have a thousand suns.... Your eyes are the very likeness of the jewels on your neck and wrist and head.... Your face cannot be compared to a sunrise, for it is bleak and there would be no such injustice as to compare you to something so ugly.... I wake and you are there and it is all my happiness.... How should I even speak such simple words and try to tell you of your radiance? I am more foolish than I have thought, for all I really do is make folly everything you are with these stupid, plain words.

"What is in a word that it should be used to describe you? Nothing. Words are tedious and ordinary. Not even king's jewels can compare to the light and sparkle of your smile. Nor a thousand fields of flowers' bloom dare compete with you. If I were to have my way, you would be the sun, and so the moon, so that you could never set on me, for just when you seemed to leave the sky and leave my eyes, you would reappear in another form, just so much as intense as the last, if not more so, but then I could not hold you.

"And yet I make you cry.... As well I should, shouldn't I? How could one so hideous as me even speak of love for you? We are different as black and white, and I think we both realize this. I suppose we can never work out, for you are so much more grand than I and people would scorn upon me and claim you out of your mind.

"Oh please do not cry so. It's true your tears surpass the most perfect diamonds, but they are just as sharp and painful. I will leave you alone for the rest of my life and hide behind a mask so that you perfect eyes do not have to look upon my marred face, if it so pleases you. However I had to speak for fear of dying with my soul still trapped inside me, please forgive me that."

Duo sniffled as he clutched at Heero's clothing, hugging him as tight as physically possible for him.

"How can you say such beautiful things about me?"

"Because every word has been twisted so painfully, so lovingly into my mind every night as I fall asleep and every morning when I wake and every time my eyes chance upon yours and every time I think of you, which is every living second of every day and even in my sleep I have turned the words over and over in my mind for my dreams contain only you and only ever you. Forgive me...."

"How can you say such beautiful things and leave me without any to return beside the most dull and overused words of them all?"

"Nothing spoken from your lips should be dull and overused, no matter what the connotation," Heero replied softly.

"Even the words 'I love you'?"

Heero was stunned and for the first time in a long time was struck with the overwhelming need to cry.

"Especially not those words," he returned as his voice cracked, burying his head into Duo's neck and letting a few tears fall and slid down his bare shoulders.

"Then I will say them and hope they are not too dull.... I love you Heero, I love you so that my heart aches to see you without me in your arms...."

"Then I shall never let you go...." 

~Til Then~


	31. Goodbye Yellow brick Road part 31

** Part Thirty-One**

Quatre and Trowa watched as Heero and Duo made their way back up the stairs, Heero's arm wrapped tight around Duo's waist, Duo snuggling into his neck.

"Off they go...." Quatre observed, smiling.

"Yes...."

"I'm glad they finally got it out in the open," Quatre spoke. When Trowa didn't say anything, Quatre then asked, "aren't you?"

"And if one of them dies? I'm not sure how in love Heero is with him, but Duo's positively mad. I don't think it's a good chance to take."

"I hope you would be upset if I died because I sure as hell would be upset for you!" Quatre replied, astonished, angry, and hurt. "We're taking the chance, aren't we? Or am I the only one risking my love and my life?"

"I didn't mean it like that!" Trowa snapped back, realizing his words weren't very carefully chosen and he would have to take infinite care with his next ones.

"Oh, then what *did* you mean?"

Trowa sighed. "I wasn't thinking, my love. Their relationship seems highly combustible to me."

"How so?"

"Heero doesn't seem big on emotions such as love, however Duo seems he *needs* it."

"Yes, but that doesn't excuse what you said about the risk with death."

"I simply meant that if Heero died, Duo would fall apart."

"Oh, what does it really matter, Trowa?" Quatre asked, voice full of woe. "We have no lives anymore. They were ruined when we were born. Why not have a little happiness while it's still possible?"

Trowa's long fingers stroked gently at Quatre's hand.

"Maybe you're right...."

"Will you dance with me?" Quatre asked quietly.

Trowa stood and offered his hand.

~~~

Wufei stared at the fire-red haired beauty sitting on the stool next to him.

Some of the things she said.... They were just indecent! But that made her all the more attractive.

Her long red hair fell shaggy to mid-back. Her eyes were like a tigers, amber oval slits that took in everything constantly. Her dress was short and her breasts large and she wore a small piece of onyx on a thin silver chain around her head, resting on her inner eye. [1] When he saw Duo walking down the stairs, he noticed that he wore one also, only with amethyst in the place of onyx.

"So Wufei, why do you travel with them, anyway? You seem the odd man out with no woman to please you," she spoke smirking.

"I feel it's my destiny," Wufei muttered.

" 'Pose ya found yourself a nice lady, she could travel with you, no?"

"I suppose," Wufei mumbled, embarrassed.

"Just haven't found the right one yet, aye?"

"Something like that," was Wufei's ingenious reply.

"I like ya. You're cute," she told him with a wink, which made him blush more.

He wished to invite her, this is true, but he knew he could not. As far as these people knew, the Academy still existed. Talent was still regarded as evil. He could not speak their true intentions; he didn't dare say Duo and Quatre were men.

It could never work.

"My friends might not enjoy your company," Wufei told her while trying not to offend her.

"Why do you have friends that have no concern for your happiness?"

"I don't have much of a choice," he muttered. "They used to be real friends, but everyone has turned against me."

"Well that's not happy. Why?" she asked, sipping her beer. Wufei was astounded at the amount of beer that woman could drink.

Wufei shrugged. "I don't know. When Heero came about, they seem blind to logic. He's so stubborn and conceited. He's really just trying to control us all, but they act as though he's some kind of god."

"So kill 'em," she suggested with a saucy smile.

"Oh, yes, I'd *love* to wring his neck, but I can't."

"Why not?"

"I.... I can't tell you."

She looked at him thoughtfully, tilting her head to the side.

"Well, we all have our secrets."

"Your name is one of them," Wufei spoke, interested, so maybe when this was all over he could find her.

"Tas'Kay," she replied, flipping back her hair nonchalantly with one hand. "But you can call me Tas, Wufei. All my friends do."

Wufei blushed when he realized she was implying he was a friend.

He wasn't sure why he was so affected by her. Women were weak and so declared even by the Divine. Why else couldn't women contain Talent?

But she didn't act like a woman. She drank and cussed and spat.... Yet her skin shown and she smelt nice and clean.

He found it a perfect combination.

"How long are you staying here in Ju?"

"We'll leave tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?!" she cried.

He nodded. "We're going to Yuotain."

"Why would want to go *there*?" she asked in disbelief and confusion.

"Is it that bad?"

"Oh, hell yes! People die when they walk over the border! If you had brains you'd just stay here!"

Wufei was upset, but only because he couldn't pull this over on Heero.

He sighed in frustration. He couldn't tell her anything! Why they had to go to Yuotain, why he couldn't leave the others, he couldn't even give her a good reason as to why he couldn't tell her anything!

"I have to stay with them," he muttered softly. "Have to...have to...."

"Whatever you say," she replied skeptically.

~~~

Duo giggled wildly as Heero lifted him into his arms, spinning him around and kissing his cheek.

"Do you really love me?" Heero whispered in his ear.

"With all my heart and more," came the prompt reply from Duo's lips as he softly kissed his neck.

There was a definite pause, as Heero lowered his lips to brush them over Duo's.

Afterward Duo unhooked himself from Heero's arms and fell upon the bed. Slowly, carefully Heero removed all his jewelry, setting it on the nightstand.

"Stand," Heero commanded gently and Duo complied. Heero's nimble fingers untied the ribbon, lacing up his back, leaving him standing in nothing but a sheik night robe without even sleeves.

"It's cold," he observed, shivering and sitting back down on the bed.

Heero have him a small smile as he began to undress himself.

"It's becoming fall. Nights will be colder, along with days."

"What will we do when winter comes?" Duo asked, his apprehension much more clear than he wished it was.

Heero shook his head. "I don't know yet.... Maybe we'll have a house by then...."

"A house?!" Duo cried excitedly. "You and me?"

Heero shrugged. "Possibly. Maybe all of us. It all depends on what happens in Yuotain with Quatre."

"Oh...." Duo murmured. "Well, after this is all over, we'll settle down somewhere pretty, right?"

"Of course," Heero answered. "In Gyne or maybe Nim, where it's summer longer and flowers bloom near perpetually. You will love it."

"I'll love anywhere if you're there."

Heero blushed as he grabbed some sheets from the drawer and told Duo to lie down, making the bed over him before crawling under the covers with him.

Duo wrapped his arms around Heero's neck and nuzzled into it, as he always wanted to. It still almost felt like a dream, but Heero shifted and locked his arms around his waist, breathing in Duo's sweet, sugary scent.

'I always wished I would sleep so close to him,' Duo thought, his mind reeling as he stared onto Heero's closed lids, his mouth parted slightly. 'I can feel his gentle breath on my cheek--! Oh, Divine! What good did I do to deserve such happiness? What did I do to have him so close? Oh, Divine, thank you, thank you! I will always be faithful and walk in Light! Oh, I--'

"Duo?" Heero asked, bright blue eyes opening and twinkling in the moonlight that escaped from the sky through the crack in the window.

"Hmm?"

"You should get some sleep, my Duo."

Duo thought his heart must've skipped a beat.

All his thoughts of sleep had long died with the chance to watch Heero do so.

"I'll try."

"Good.... Duo," he spoke nervously. There was something about being so close to him in the silent night that made it so much more nerve wracking.

"Umhmm?"

"I...I love you," he whispered, throat tight with fear.

"I love you too," Duo whispered back, giving him a quick peak on the lips with a blush. "I always...have...."

Quatre glanced into their bedroom as they made their way to their room.

"So adorable...." Quatre murmured. "Duo needs someone like Heero. They're well matched."

"You shouldn't be so concerned over someone else's relationship."

"You jealous?" Quatre asked in amusement.

"No," Trowa replied indignantly. "I just don't want you to screw anything up."

Quatre was stunned. "Screw it up? What do you mean by that? Trowa? Trowa! Answer me!" he cried, grabbing his wrist.

"Don't worry about it," Trowa replied, yanking out of his grasp.

Quatre never felt so deserted.

~Til Then~

[1] The third eye, in the middle of the forehead.


	32. Goodbye Yellow brick Road part 32

**Part Thirty-Two**

The managed their way into Yuotain and at first, everything was okay. Nothing looked too out of place. Nice quiet villages and countrysides.

But when they made their way into the capital city....

Even Heero was somewhat affected by the strife of the people. It almost scared him to go through the town. The way people were fighting and starving in the streets.

Just to see such pain on people....

He'd seen, in the course of five minutes, two men kill each other over a blanket, a mother carefully tearing away the flesh of a dog to feed her children, several corpses swarming with maggots and other nasty little creatures and other assorted sights that made him want to go back and hold Duo and protect him from such vile visions.

"It's like something straight out of my dreams," Duo murmured fearfully as his eyes darted back and forth, looking out the window.

"I don't care what any of them say," Quatre whispered. "I've got to prove myself as king."

The palace made Quatre want to cry. The beautiful walls and towers and brick and glory of his childhood were no longer. Now it was nothing but deteriorating stone. It held none of the glow that it did when the country was under his mother's hand. It was no longer a symbol of the strength of the country, but a display of corruption.

"Throw me a cloak," Quatre demanded, pounding on the window to halt Heero and Trowa, who were outside driving. "I can't take this any longer. I'm going in there. I am king."

"Quatre!" Duo cried, but Wufei handed him a cloak.

"It's your country. I would want the same for mine, if it was still there."

Quatre's hand hesitated on the cloak as he stared hard at Wufei. Wufei hadn't exactly been the nicest person to them in the past, so what was this gesture for?

Duo knew. He was a prince until his country was destroyed. He understood Quatre's pain.

Quatre threw on the cloak. Though he was wearing woman's riding clothes, they didn't look much different then men's, but for the top and that he would cover with the cloak.

"What do you need?" Heero asked as he opened the door.

"We're going in there and I'm announcing myself king," Quatre spoke firmly and there was fire in his eyes, which wasn't a sight that was seen often. They knew they had to let him.

"What do you plan to do?"

"Walk right into my palace and gather up the council and tell them I am king. And if there is no more council, I will tell everyone in the building and go about starting to fix things. I don't really give a damn who stands in my way! This is my country! If I don't take care of it, who will?"

Heero gave a firm nod. No one had heard Quatre curse, well, ever and so they knew he was serious. What could they argue? None of them were pleased with the events that were taking place in this city. None of them liked the idea of suffering, after they had experienced it and were finally free. Each of them wanted to see the people happy as much as Quatre did. No argument they brought up would hold enough strength against the easing of pain.

"We'll drive you in."

"Thank you."

With that he shut the door once more and hopped up.

"We're going into the palace," Heero told Trowa.

"I think this is a bad idea."

"Why are you being so negative toward Quatre all of the sudden?" Heero finally asked, annoyed.

Trowa sighed. "This just makes it all the more obvious...."

"What? That he's royalty? You really need to get over that."

Trowa was silent.

Duo bit his lip as he stared at the determination in Quatre's eyes and posture. It didn't feel right.... There was no plan. It was always better to have a plan....

But he really had no influence on the situation.

They pulled into the gates. Heero got past the guards just by wearing nice clothing. He supposed that wasn't a common sight.

They climbed out and Duo, who was dressed in full skirts and jewelry, grabbed Heero's arm as Quatre stormed in, the rest following nervously.

They turned around different winding staircases, and the more Quatre saw, the more upset he got. This was his home! And it seemed near abandoned. No one had dusted for what looked like years and only half the lights were lit. There were no smiling faces and happy people. There were no people waiting to be given advice. There was nothing!

It was dead.

He felt like his heart had died.

Finally he slammed open a door and was greeted by the faces of a few old men.

They turned to stare at him in disbelief, not to mention the four behind him, all of which were dressed nicely.

"Who...?" one old man began to ask.

"Is this the council?" Quatre shouted, crossing his arms over his chest in anger.

They nodded. There was only one young man that stuck out like a dove in a field of crows.

"And who are you?" he asked, pointing to the young man.

"Millardo," he replied smoothly, standing, golden hair shimmering down his back. "I am here to fix this country up."

"Not my country you won't!" he replied. "You don't touch this! I am Quatre Raberba Winner and I have returned to claim the throne!"

There was an audible gasp through the room before Millardo began to chuckle.

"You? Quatre Raberba Winner? He died as a child, we all know that."

"Then how do you explain the fact that I'm here?"

The other four were becoming exceedingly nervous. They didn't want any fighting, but that's what it looked like would happen.

"He does look like former Queen--"

"He's a fake!"

"Who would want to rule this country bad enough to fake it beside the true heir?" Quatre cried in frustration. "I know every door and every room and every servant in this entire palace and I can easily prove it!"

Well, Millardo was getting fairly pissed off. This little blond haired brat would not take his position away from him!

"I'd like to see this," he spoke calmly, but it was a little more sharp than before.

"Really? Okay! Come on!"

"Quatre," Heero warned, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Please calm yourself," he whispered. "Yelling won't get you anywhere."

He took a few breaths and faced Millardo once more, walking a little closer to him.

"This was my childhood home. All I ever knew. To see the country in such disarray, it just breaks my heart. Everything has deteriorated. This country is no longer a beautiful stronghold of happiness and strength, it is nothing, anymore. I remember when my mother ruled, the halls of this palace would be filled with people seeking advice, smiling, laughing, talking to other people, admiring the majesty of the place. There were occasional fights and bouts of the plague in the streets, of course, but over all everyone was safe and everyone was happy.

"Now I come back and I see this place, and I feel like crying. This is nothing like my joyous childhood memories, and it should be. I left for reasons that were beyond my control, and now I have returned and I am shocked at what I have found. I have to rule and make things the way they were once again. I have to show the people happiness. I have to make this country strong again," Quatre spoke. It wasn't a very grand speech, but he was trying to appeal to the older men's emotions for the city.

"Maybe he's right, Millardo," one of the council members spoke up.

"Yes. He seems to know the way things were before and he really wants to bring them back," another said.

"You want to change things too much. We want things the way they were," yet another supported Quatre and Millardo was beginning to lose control of his anger.

"Things didn't work before, don't you see! You need to revolutionize!"

"And what good will that do? Things didn't work before because there was no one on the throne," Quatre told him. "Now that I'm back, things should work fine. We don't need a revolution right now. What we need is order."

"Shut up!" Millardo finally screamed as the council began to speak.

Everyone stared at the raging man in front of them. His eyes seemed ablaze and his brows furrowed in deep anger.

He couldn't let his position be threatened.

And with out a second thought, he built a ball of his spirit inside of him and threw it mentally at the blond bitch.

The cackling ball of energy pounded through the air and you could feel it thumping around you, the high-pitched whistle of the air just barely heard as he smashed into Quatre, the impact throwing him against the wall.

Duo immediately ran to Quatre's side, the other three filling themselves with Talent. The council members didn't know what to think and one of them fell dead from heart attack.

"What the fuck are you?" Heero growled, setting up a nice wall of Earth threads to block this freak from harming Duo.

His face smoothed to perfect calm.

"I am Millardo Peacecraft and I am going to claim this throne and manipulate this country to my Lord's greatest desires," he cooed before raising a palm and throwing another ball of spirit in Heero's direction, but before it could hit him, he countered with Earth and they exploded against one another, a brilliant flash black and red, both men's auras flaming up around the almost meteor-like balls as they slammed into each other and burst into flame as they fell to the ground.

None of the five boys had ever seen anything like it, and it was skeptical whether Millardo had or not.

By this time the council members had sunk to the corners and had long since fainted or wet themselves. Nothing in the seventy or eighty years they served on the council had ever been so frightening for them.

"Clever, you are all very clever," Millardo chortled. "But no, no." He suddenly screamed, "I will not be out-done by Tem'Syo!"

He threw his weight in Quatre and Duo's direction, along with another piece of himself, but Quatre had at this time stood and screaming his own cry of mostly fear, threw his Spirit into Milliardo's.

There was an almost deafening clap of thunder as the two powers hit and the room exploded in brilliant white and deep, dark red as the two weavings bounce off of each other.

Everyone was blind momentarily, but as their eyes began to work once more they were caught with the fascination of watching the spirit be sucked back into both men.

It was as though time had stopped and both hung suspended in time. There was a low groaning sound as the weavings of their bodies shook to allow the spirit to re-enter their lives. Their very live's threads and existence.

The room had by this time almost fallen apart in the shear extreme of power possessed within the flimsy walls. It had definitely expanded and the marble of the floor cracked, some of the ceiling beams crashing to the ground.

Just as both men's bodies did react to the joining of their spirit and their souls.

THUMP

Both bodies hit the ground with a sickening crack and 'thud' as time re-began itself.

Duo searched frantically for Quatre's pulse as the other's regained themselves, Millardo lying on the floor, barely moving, save for his lips.

Which slowly spelled out the words... "Tem'Syo...shall...die..." and his hand shakily rose from the blood which pooled under it on the ground, his rib cage having long snapped and sticking at disturbing angels out of his skin--

"Fuck OFF!" Trowa suddenly shrieked, dashing madly across the floor, huge splinter-beam of wood clutched tight in his hand as he ran it solidly down through Millardo's chest.

A funky smile overcame Millardo's face as he gave out a weak last cough, blood spewing over his lips and cheeks and matting his hair.

"So warm," he rasped before his eyes closed in to perpetual night.

Trowa's heavy breath and Duo's quiet sobs were the only two noises left in the room.

~Til Then~


	33. Goodbye Yellow brick Road part 33

**Part Thirty-Three**

"Well, at least we have achieved what we came to get achieved and none of us are dead," Duo spoke optimistically as he stood to the side, pouring some tea for Heero.

It was the first time any of them had seen each other since three days ago with the Millardo incident.

Quatre was still in bed, but alive.

He was also going to be officially crowned king on the Winter Day. Winter Day was the day, which was said to have, contained the first snowfall and is celebrated as the most joyful day of the season and there is always a big feast.

Since they had Quatre back in the palace, everyone suddenly seemed to have a purpose again. It was unbelievably strange when they saw people actually get up and start cleaning and cooking again. It was as if everything had just been packed away, and now, suddenly, the vacationer suddenly had the urge to unpack from his trip.

Quatre could no longer pretend to be female, but Duo was decked out in skirts and jewels.

"None of us are dead yet," Wufei growled as Duo handed him a cup of tea too, after giving Heero his.

"I think that we should look at this as a positive thing. Now we can wait for everyone to come to us," he returned as he poured Trowa some.

Trowa...now that was interesting. Everybody knew they were fighting, just as everybody knew that Trowa had dealt Millardo the final blow to keep him from hurting Quatre. And though he might not admit it, his face was torn with worry for his little lover who still laid halls away in bed.

"Here Trowa," he offered, handing him the cup, which Trowa hesitated in taking.

"Yes, people can come to us, but that means that our location is not only open, but open for ambush," Wufei gave answer.

Heero didn't say much as he sipped at his tea. What was there to say?

He really wanted to talk to Duo alone, make sure he was okay. Either that or flee the palace. He hated being in a place where he could be hurt, and there was almost no place better to attack than on this palace. All five of them were right there.... The only way it would be better was if each one of them was a hundred thousand miles away and easily caught.

He felt like a deer snared in rope.

"I have to agree...."

Duo pouted as he sipped his own tea.

"Well, I'm going to take full advantage of the situation. I'm going to enjoy huge bed with warm sheets and hot baths while I can," Duo announced.

"As well you should," Trowa finally spoke, standing. His voice sounded weary, tired. As if he hadn't slept for years, when in fact, he had just slept for two whole days. "I really don't care what the rest of you do, I really don't. You're not my concern and maybe this is all bullshit and we're wasting our time and energy for nothing. You three can do what ever you want, but I'm staying by Quatre--"

"Trowa," Duo gasped in surprise.

"Even if I have to be merely his butler."

"Trowa, can I--" Heero started, but didn't finish for Trowa cut him off with a glare.

"You never know how much you love something until you almost lose it."

With that, he exited.

The other three were left in a bit of shock.

But Heero knew what he was talking about. Heero understood. In so many ways he wished he didn't, he understood.

Wufei set down his cup and looked over at the other two. Duo was sitting on the back of the couch, Heero sitting on the cushions. Both of them looked deep in thought over the situation.

They also looked like they should be married and live together a thousand years and Wufei was envious of this.

He would never look that right with anyone....

And who would love him anyway? Not a woman, most certainly. He had Talent, and that was something women feared.

But unlike the other four, he didn't find himself ever looking for a man as something more than a friend.

So in that respect, he was damned.

Slowly, and probably subconsciously, Heero's fingers began to twist through Duo's long, flowing hair as he thought, and Duo leaned over to rest his head on Heero's and that was about all of that Wufei could take.

It was bad enough when Quatre and Trowa were running around lovesick, but not Heero too--!

Sure, he hated Heero with a passion, but if he was supposed to be their leader of sorts, then he should at least have his head about him!

"Of all grand things in Light," he muttered under his breath and suddenly Duo sat up again.

"Sorry, Wufei," he apologized, blushing lightly. "I wasn't thinking."

Duo did feel bad, partly because Wufei didn't have anyone, but mostly because it wasn't proper to show affection for people in public and though that might have been a very small display, it was enough.

Heero didn't really notice.

"I think that there should be more strength among us than love. Love can get your far, but soon it becomes a hindrance," Wufei declared, standing. "Love is what makes people blind to reason."

"It also gives people a reason to fight," Heero spoke, but Wufei acted as though he said nothing.

"Love is the thing that crumbles people. The strongest men fall slain to 'love'," he began to speak the term as though his were poison. " 'Love', the greatest of all things, is a joke. What happens if Duo has to die in order to achieve safety in the world? Huh? Your 'love'?"

"Then we will try to save him of course, but if he has to die, he has to die," Heero struggled out with as smooth a voice as he could manage.

"Oh, you can say that all well right now, but how about later, when it happens? Then how smoothly can you kill the one you 'love'? Then how easily will your sword slide into his body?

"And Duo! What about you? What if Heero had to die in order to save the entire world? What then would all this 'love' be? Answer me dammit!" he cried, anger so deep inside of him, swelling out in his words.

"Shut up!" Duo screamed back.

"How could you kill him? The one you 'love'? Your life, your breath, your existence?! And yet you tell me it's okay to 'love'? The word is poison, as well as the emotion! It corrodes your brain!"

"Your just jealous because no one wants a bastard like you!" Duo's screech reverberated through the room and the loud smashing of the teacup as he threw it into the ground was barely heard.

Then there was dead silence.

A serving woman entered and began to nervously pick up the shards of broken glass as Duo stared Wufei down.

She found these travelers odd and even scary for they possessed Talent, but Quatre had saved them all and would be a grand king.

'Besides, if the one woman--Duet was her name?--can love a man with Talent,' she thought in the nerve-wracking silence, 'they can't be that bad....'

Wufei left as the serving woman did, much too angry and embarrassed to stick around to 'chat'.

Duo slid to sit down next to Heero, wrapping his arms tight around his neck.

"I didn't want to be mean, but he wouldn't shut up. I know this situation is very hard for Wufei, but--"

"Shh," Heero urged, rubbing his back. "Wufei will be okay.... You can't spend your time worrying about something you can't fix."

"I suppose...Heero.... I suppose...."

~Til Then~


	34. Goodbye Yellow brick Road part 34

**Thirty-Four**

"The Academy is no more," Quatre spoke. It was the day before Winter Day and Quatre had already called in the council.

The council now consisted of ten members. Heero, Duo, Trowa, Wufei, the five old men that lived, and the richest but smartest man in the country. They had already, in a strange mishap, showed the council that Duo was indeed a man and told them that he was dressed as a woman and played Heero's wife for under-cover purposes so they would not argue too much about a 'woman' being elected to council. Trowa was only really elected so that he could keep close to Quatre for the rest of his life.

Quatre would be crowned tomorrow, but everyone already took him as their king.

"The Academy destroyed?" Domus, the new member, asked aloud as the others mumbled in shock.

"Yes. Contrary to popular belief, these boys are innocent and just need guidance for their Talents," Quatre spoke, smoothing his rich robes under his palms. "I am glad we got out while we could. That place was evil. They used boys for their own sick pleasures."

Everyone was silent while trying to gauge Heero, Trowa, Duo, and Wufei's reactions. Only Duo's face twisted in a small grimace.

"We can't allow all these boys to cause destruction!" Trymuis declared.

"My thoughts exactly," Quatre replied. "Think on this: I am a very talented Spirit Artist. Heero Earth, Wufei Fire, Trowa Water, and Duo a Wind Artist. You are right, Trymuis, we cannot allow it. So listen. We have five excellent Artists here. We also have the facilities to host a small school here at the palace. Think about it. We will hold a more detailed discussion after Winter Day."

Everyone nodded.

"We also must find a permanent source of income or trade, construct and army, reconcile the towns. We need organization and fast.

"I wish you to dwell upon these things, however I release you now because it is the Eve or Winter Day. Enjoy the celebrations and your families. Til then." Quatre folded his hands on his lap and closed his eyes as the men got up and left, talking quietly among themselves.

"These actions are flat out stupid," Wufei warned. "People will be able to get at us easily this way. We are proclaiming our ignorance with what you are suggesting."

"Wufei, when you find a logical answer to our problems, then I will listen to your criticism, until then I wish you keep your mouth shut and your nose out of the affairs of kings," Quatre spoke grandly, walking away.

"You may be king, but you're still only fifteen! Just like the rest of us!" Wufei cried after him.

Quatre paused on his way to the door.

"Sixteen. My birthday is on Winter Day."

~~~

"If I am a woman, I might as well be a strong one," was Duo's logic as he gathered blankets and bread and stashed them in a large wheel barrel to hook to a horse.

He found it exceedingly hard to move in thick brown wool, but the dresses he had were beautiful and so he didn't' complain much. Not to mention all the skirts and frills were a lot warmer than men's clothing.

He fastened about him a cloak and brushed at his hair.

Heero was still talking to the council members and none of the others looked like they wanted to chat, so he decided to go through the streets and try to help the poor.

"Poor" was something he understood much too well.

Besides, weren't women always known to show acts of compassion?

At worst, he could gather an admirable reputation for Heero, being his "wife" and all.

So they were never officially married, but everyone saw them as such.

He didn't mind.

Gently he rubbed the horse's nose before they set off into the street.

He soon found himself ready to cry.

Women fell on their knees before him, kissing the hems of his skirt, blessing him, and proclaiming him a goddess of compassion. "Duet the Compassionate" and "Duet the Benevolent" were two titles he received from many people. They wept openly, unable to believe the fortune of warmth and actual food to feed their children.

He supplied them with a little medicine for the sick children and comforting words and promises that King Winner would help them.

~~~

"Heero!"

Heero lifted him into a hug, twirling him around in the empty hall.

"Where have you been, my lady?"

"I did the most amazing thing!" he spoke, eyes shinning as he released Heero and they began walking to dinner. "I went out to aid the poor and I'm just...shocked. Their gratefulness was overwhelming."

Heero smiled at the kindness of his Duo. He was so lucky to have someone so caring and sweet.

"I want to do things like that more often."

"Of course," Heero answered. "Maybe I'll go with you next time?"

"You don't have too.... I know you'll be one of the most valuable members of the council and such things can't take up your time.... It's more of a woman's job, anyway...."

"I'd never let the council come between me and you, however if you want to do this alone, I can understand that," Heero replied when he saw what joy Duo was getting out of the solo work.

Duo smiled at him and kissed his cheek.

"I love you, Heero."

~~~

"You aren't nervous, are you?" Trowa asked as he stood on Quatre's balcony, holding him close as they gazed over the hills and mountains in the distance, the blood red sun setting behind it all and painting the sky in multi-color silks.

"A little," he admitted, blushing. "I'm worried most about Wufei."

"You told him the right thing. He has no right to criticize your judgment. The answer isn't clear."

There was a long silence between the two boys.

"It's not only Wufei that worries you, is it?" Trowa asked and Quatre shook his head.

"Not only that...."

"What else then?" he continued when it became apparent Quatre wouldn't tell him of his own accord.

"I love the way you hold me," Quatre whispered, trying to keep his voice from cracking.

Trowa didn't know what to say.

"I'm going to be required to produce and heir, Trowa. It's my duty to my country...." Quatre spoke meekly as Trowa's arms suddenly wrapped tighter around his body.

"Dammit!" Trowa cursed, his entire body shaking with rage. "Why is it that when I think I can have you forever, we are torn apart?!"

He tried to keep from screaming, but it was so hard when he was so mad....

"Sh, Trowa.... Not for a while and they just can be concubines. It upsets me too, that I'll have to--"

"I probably won't live to see that day anyway," Trowa muttered, hugging him closer. "None of it matters when you know you're going to die any day...."

"Oh stop. I can have concubines and they can have the damn child!" Quatre spat, angry that Trowa was acting so stupid and so weak when he was a hundred times weaker than Trowa and still managing to keep his ground.

Trowa was surprised because Quatre hardly ever cursed and meant it.

"They'll have the child and that will be that. I only need one male! It can't be that hard. And if I don't have a male, then one of my daughters can have one for me or something! It's really not that big of a deal! I don't want to do it, you don't want to watch me, but we can't go thinking about suicide because of it! If you aren't strong for yourself, Trowa, be strong for me. Just do that, okay? For me?"

Trowa stroked his hand softly.

"Okay," he replied. "I'll try to be strong, for you."

~Til Then~


End file.
